“There are very serious questions that need to be answered.”

He said it was insulting that Tuvalu’s government would have to ask Australia permission to strike any defence or security agreements with any other nation under the deal.

“When are you going to stop selling the sovereignty of Tuvalu to other countries like Australia?” he asked his successor as prime minister.

Sopoaga said he would rather strike a similar arrangement with the United Kingdom than Australia given it was a member of the United Nations Security Council.

“This text is very one-sided for Australia,” he said.

“If elected,I would work to improve it for the betterment of the people of Tuvalu. I think I can offer the people a much better deal.”

Tuvalu,a collection of nine low-lying atolls,is considered by the World Bank and the United Nations to be at risk of being deserted as sea levels rise.

Sopoaga earlier blasted the treaty as an act of “bribery” and a way to “buy Tuvalu’s silence over Australia’s coal exports” in an opinion piece published by Radio New Zealand this week.

Sopoaga was regarded as a close friend of Taiwan,rather than mainland China,when he was prime minister,retaining formal diplomatic relations with the self-governing island rather than Beijing.

But he said he was concerned that Australia was using the treaty with Tuvalu to try to contain China’s influence in the Pacific.

“We cannot go on using small states like Tuvalu as pawns in the game of major powers,” he said.

All 16 members of Tuvalu’s parliament will be decided at the upcoming elections,and they will then gather to decide the nation’s prime minister.

Sopoaga said he wanted the treaty to address the trade imbalance between Australia and Tuvalu,a move that would encourage Tuvaluans to stay on the island nation rather than seek economic opportunities overseas.

“We buy millions of dollars worth of goods from Australia,but Australia doesn’t buy so much as a coconut from us,” he said.

“Why does Australia not buy our tuna,our coconuts,our coconut oil? I see there is a golden opportunity here but let’s make sure the golden chicken lays golden eggs.”

Albanese hailed the treaty as “the most significant agreement between Australia and a Pacific island nation ever” when announcing it at the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands in November.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said:“The Falepili Union was developed at the government of Tuvalu’s request and is focused on Tuvalu’s priorities of security,climate change and mobility with dignity.

“The treaty recognises that the statehood and sovereignty of Tuvalu will continue,notwithstanding the impacts of climate change-related sea-level rise,and commits Australia to support Tuvalu’s adaptation priorities.

“And it commits Australia to come to Tuvalu’s assistance in the face of military aggression,natural disaster or global health pandemic,at Tuvalu’s request.”

Sopoaga noted there was recent history of Australia announcing security agreements with Pacific nations that became ensnared in controversy.

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister,Sato Kilman,vowed in September to rewrite a security pact his predecessor signed with Australia last year,saying his nation’s parliament was unlikely to ratify the agreement in its current form.

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