Australia will supply Fiji with an extra 14 Bushmaster military vehicles and fast-track visa applications for visitors from the Pacific nation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka to Canberra on Wednesday with a marching band flourish and multi-cannon salute at the forecourt of Parliament House.
The two leaders signed a renewed and elevated Vuvale Partnership - Vuvale is Fijian for "family" - to tackle climate change and strengthen an economic and trade partnership.
Mr Rabuka also reaffirmed Fiji's commitment to traditional partners such as Australia in light of concerns about China signing security and policing pacts with Pacific island nations.
He said he preferred to work with countries with similar democratic systems as tensions heighten between the US and China.
"Some people call it rivalry, some people call it one-upmanship, whatever it is we're more comfortable dealing with traditional friends," he said in a joint press conference following a meeting with Mr Albanese.
"Our democracies are the same brand of democracy," he said, talking up similar parliamentary, justice and policing systems inherited from British law.
But Suva will avoid choosing sides between the US and China "so that we do not appear to be aggressive in our relationship with our neighbours and also with our friends", Mr Rabuka said.
In support of Fiji’s steps to launch a more secure ePassport, the prime ministers agreed Fiji would be provided with early access to mobile technologies to support a more streamlined visa application service.
With Australia’s support, Fiji National University will provide at least 70 aviation engineering scholarships between 2024 and 2028 for women and men from five Pacific island countries.
At a time of rising global tensions, the leaders also discussed Mr Rabuka’s "zone of peace" approach for the Pacific that will be presented to regional leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum in November.
Mr Albanese confirmed Australia would meet Fiji’s request for the purchase of 14 Bushmaster vehicles for international peacekeeping operations.
"Both of us agree that Pacific unity is central to the relationship in our region and Fiji plays a critical leadership role," he said.
The leaders also agreed to finalise a cybersecurity memorandum of understanding.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham spoke to Mr Rabuka and said the two nations shared an ambition for the Pacific to remain peaceful.
"One that is not militarised by external powers in ways that would be to the detriment of the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific," he told reporters in Canberra.
Asked whether China could be part of the peace plan given its militarisation, Senator Birmingham urged Beijing to engage with regional partners "in ways that respect international laws ... and underpin a peaceful prosperous region".
"China's economic growth has been a transformative one for hundreds of millions of people across our region, lifting them out of poverty - that is welcome," he said.
Beijing needed to enable a positive relationship with the region "rather than the counterproductive actions that China has taken in recent times, particularly through its trade dispute and coercion attempts against Australia".
