Archived China is lavishing Vanuatu with gifts, including new classrooms, martial arts lessons for police and money for extensive building renovations as it tries to dissuade Port Vila from ratifying a stalled security deal with Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese left Vanuatu empty-handed in September after a one-day trip where he had expected to sign the Nakamal agreement – a security deal that would grant Australia a veto over any Chinese investment in Vanuatu’s critical infrastructure, in exchange for $500 million in project funding. […] The deal – similar to pacts struck with Tuvalu, Nauru and Papua New Guinea – was knocked back after Vanuatu ministers expressed last-minute concern it would curtail Port Vila’s economic relationship with Beijing. […] The Australian Financial Review reported in November that China gave Vanuatu a record $86 million to upgrade key buildings such as the prime minister’s office, president’s residence, the parliament, the ministry of foreign affairs, a high school, a stadium and a convention centre. […] China’s ambassador to Vanuatu, Li Minggang, in November attended the launch of a Chinese-funded solar-powered “e-classroom” designed to operate off-grid. Also in November, the National University of Vanuatu and Wuyi University in Guangdong inked a memorandum of understanding to conduct educational and academic exchanges, and Vanuatu speaker Stephen Felix visited Beijing on a trip billed around co-operating on climate action. In December, China donated $250,000 worth of equipment to the Vanuatu police force, with the embassy declaring in a statement that “China [will] always be Vanuatu’s reliable security partner”. A Chinese police expert team also visited Vanuatu in October and November to train 85 Vanuatu police officers in martial arts and self-defence. […]