A senior government source,speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters,said Beijing was “incredibly active” in courting Pacific nations and had improved its strategy to gain a diplomatic foothold in the region.

“They’re learning from their mistakes and getting smarter at what they are doing,” the source said.

Instead of trying to convince Pacific nations to sign up to large,pre-written documents,Beijing was now working more collaboratively with Pacific leaders to see how they could help address their policing and security needs.

James Batley,Australia’s former top diplomat to Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste,said:“China is clearly working hard to strike security and policing deals across the Pacific.

“They are working to undermine our influence in the Pacific and Western interests in general.”

Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano,who spearheaded the creation ofthe Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union, lost his seat in last week’s elections,and several contenders to replace him have called for the agreement to be scrapped or renegotiated.

Conroy said:“We are committed to implementing our commitments under the Falepili Union,and we will work with the incoming government to do so.

“I’m firmly of the belief that the union is in the interest of both countries.”

Asked whether the agreement would survive the leadership transition in Tuvalu,he said:“I am optimistic,but we totally respect the decisions of the Tuvalu government.”

In November,Albanesehailed the “groundbreaking agreement”,which committed Australia to help Tuvalu in the event of emergencies such as natural disasters,pandemics and military conflicts,while resettling up to 280 Tuvaluans in Australia each year.

In return,Australia was granted effective veto power over any possible security pact between Tuvalu and another nation such as China.

The members of Tuvalu’s parliament are due to meet within days to decide who will serve as prime minister.

Former prime minister Enele Sopoaga,who was re-elected to parliament last week and wants to take back the top job,has described the deal as alarming,bullish and inconsiderate.

Vowing to scrap the treaty in its current form,Sopoaga said in December:“This is like a bucket of dirt that is being dropped on the people of Tuvalu.”

Other contenders for the prime ministership have said that Tuvalu should examine whether it should continue to recognise Taiwan or switch to China.

Mihai Sora,the project director of the Australia-PNG network at the Lowy Institute and a former diplomat in the region,said:“The Pacific is still clearly very hotly contested in geopolitical terms.”

Sora said he was confident the incoming Tuvaluan government would retain the key features of the Falepili Union,saying:“It’s too good an offer for Tuvalu to pass up completely.”

Conroy said the government was working hard to find a solution after Bendigo Bank said it would stop supplying banking services to Nauru by the end of the year.

The Coalition has accused Labor of failing to match its pre-election rhetoric about restoring ties with the Pacific by playing a more active role in the region and increasing Australia’s emissions reduction targets.

Conroy countered that the Coalition “weren’t even getting involved in the race[for influence in the Pacific] because they wouldn’t show up and wouldn’t take seriously the region’s really deep-held beliefs on things like climate change”.

“Our engagement and policies are paying huge dividends,” he said,pointing to a $200 million Australia-PNG security agreement announced in December and a new visa lottery scheme for Pacific nationals.

The government announced a security pact with Vanuatu in 2022,but the country’s new prime minister,Sato Kilman,has said his nation’s parliament was unlikely to ratify it in its current form.

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