China hopes that the cooperation between relevant country and Pacific nations will be truly conducive to the development and stability of the Pacific islands region. The cooperation should not target any third party, still less be used as an excuse for geopolitical contest, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday.

He made the remarks at the Monday regular press conference, in response to Australia and Vanuatu on the same day signing an economic and security agreement that prohibits the establishment of any foreign military base on the Pacific island nation's territory. Australian officials have previously expressed concern that China is seeking an expanded security presence in the region, including in Vanuatu.

China always upholds the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness in carrying out practical cooperation in various fields with Vanuatu and other Pacific nations, Guo said.

According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vanuatu's leader Jotham Napat signed the Nakamal agreement in Canberra on Monday, almost a year after a planned signing ceremony in Port Vila collapsed over concerns Vanuatu would surrender too much sovereignty to Australia, particularly over foreign investment decisions.

Certain Western media outlets including the AP and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation are falling back on their familiar rhetoric, hyping supposed competition between China and Australia for influence across the region when reporting on the Australia-Vanuatu agreement. 

Chen Hong, director of the Asia Pacific Studies Centre of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday that such hype from Western media largely stems from their tendency to view Pacific island states through a Cold War-style geopolitical lens, treating sovereign nations merely as bargaining chips for major-power rivalry. 

Such narratives overlook the region's most pressing reality: For Pacific island countries, the gravest security challenges lie not in purported competition over military outposts or bloc standoffs, but existential hurdles including natural disasters, energy shortages and inadequate public services that hinder their survival and development, Chen stressed.

China's cooperation with Vanuatu centers on the country's core development priorities, with a sharp focus on livelihood projects that deliver tangible results, enabling local communities to witness meaningful progress spanning transport access, stable power supply, healthcare, education and vocational training, Chen said. "This strong people-centered bond renders bilateral cooperation far less susceptible to outside hyping narratives," he said.

Notably, Australia and Vanuatu have agreed to water down key clauses clearly aimed at limiting Chinese investment in Vanuatu's ports, airports and telecommunications by blocking "third party involvement" in critical infrastructure which could affect either country or "the region's security interest," according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Albanese said on Monday the updated Nakamal agreement would require Vanuatu to consult on any third-party agreement in critical infrastructure. However, the text of the deal shows Australia would no longer have veto rights over critical infrastructure investment in Vanuatu, per the AFR.

Chen said that Vanuatu's efforts to adjust core provisions with notable exclusionary inclinations may well reflect its consistent commitment to upholding national sovereignty and preserving autonomy over its development roadmap, as it hopes to avoid being cornered into taking sides between China and Australia.

Chen noted that from Vanuatu's perspective, key infrastructure covering ports, airports, telecommunications and energy underpins its economic growth, disaster management and progress in people's well-being; such essential national assets are hardly areas where outside parties ought to draw arbitrary investment limits and restrain collaborative development under the guise of security concerns.

Australia's willingness to adjust relevant provisions also points to a reality that Canberra needs to face, which is that Pacific island nations are no longer geopolitical pieces that external powers can manipulate at will. While outside countries may offer development support to these islands, such aid and cooperation should not translate into exclusive control, nor should bilateral partnerships be burdened with political strings that limit collaboration to a single partner only, the expert said.

At the Monday press conference, spokesperson Guo also responded to two follow-up questions regarding a strategic cooperation pact that China and Vanuatu are slated to sign, specifically, when it will be signed and whether the text of the deal with China would be released once it is signed in the interest of transparency.

For the first question, Guo said that China's cooperation with Vanuatu is based on mutual respect, equal consultation, mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness. China will, in light of the aspirations and needs of Vanuatu, continue expanding friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields to the benefit of our two countries and peoples, Guo added.

On the second question, Guo said China's cooperation with Pacific island nations is fair and square. "Our cooperation is not imposed on anyone, nor targets any third party, and has been sincerely received by the people in the region," he said, adding that China always handles the documents on bilateral cooperation with Pacific island nations on the basis of friendly consultation.

Public approval rate for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet fell by 5.1 percentage points from the previous month to 54.3 percent in June, hitting the lowest level since she took office last October, a poll by Jiji Press showed.

Conducted from June 12 to 15 with 2000 people aged 18 or over nationwide, the June survey by the Japanese news outlet also suggested that the proportion of respondents who oppose the Takaichi cabinet rose by 2.5 percentage points to 22.2 percent, the highest since Takaichi took office.  

In terms of the political parties, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) maintained the top support rate at 22.8 percent, but the figure fell by 5.0 points from the previous month.

Besides Jiji Press, multiple Japanese media outlets have noted the downward trend in approval ratings for Takaichi's cabinet.

Earlier this month, an NHK poll released on June 8 shows that the approval rate for Takaichi cabinet dropped 1 percentage point from last month to 60 percent. The disapproval rate is 26 percent, up 3 percentage points.

A nationwide opinion poll carried out by the Mainichi Shimbun on May 23 and 24 put cabinet support at 50 percent, logging the third straight monthly decline.

"While Takaichi's top-line support levels remain robust, though, the nature of support for the prime minister is nevertheless changing," Katsuhiro Yoneshige, president of news venture JX Press Corp, wrote in an opinion piece for Nippon.com.

Citing surveys from political survey website Go2senkyo.com and the JX News Agency, the article noted that since Takaichi's inauguration, the level of enthusiasm for Takaichi's cabinet has dropped among the working-age generation (those in their twenties to fifties). In May, those who "strongly support" the government registered only 30 percent, down from 50 percent six months prior in this broad and critically important demographic.

The Jiji Press attributed the sliding approval figures to social media videos released by Takaichi's campaign that smeared rival candidates during electoral races, including last year's LDP leadership contest. There are some other Japanese media outlets attributed the decline in Takaichi's approval ratings in recent months to Japan's pervasive cost-of-living crunch and growing alarm over surging energy prices fueled by tensions across the Middle East. 

Earlier this month, a Mainichi Shimbun survey found that the young age group, which once held high hopes for the Takaichi administration, has turned critical of her leadership.

While the Takaichi cabinet is mulling a consumption tax cut on food and beverages to tackle soaring prices, the measure has sparked worries that it may fail to deliver its intended effects. Even if rolled out as a temporary policy, critics fear it could become permanent and trigger deterioration in public finances, according to the Bloomberg Japan. 

Lü Chao, a professor at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday that economic and livelihood concerns remain the core benchmark for Japanese voters to assess the performance of the Takaichi cabinet.

"Takaichi made sweeping campaign promises to improve public livelihood and address economic hardships, but she has largely failed to deliver the commitment," the expert pointed out. "Furthermore, her provocative policies toward China have inflicted substantial economic losses on Japan's business sector, fueling discontent among local industrial and commercial communities."

Takaichi's awkward showing on the diplomatic circuit has also drawn fierce backlash from Japanese citizens. On June 18, a clip capturing Takaichi being largely ignored by fellow world leaders ahead of an official G7 group photo went viral across X. 

"Takaichi is isolated, barely able to hold a conversation with anyone. At one point, she even pretended people were talking to her when no one had approached her at all—utterly deranged behavior… All her multiple scandals have become widely known overseas… There is no way world leaders will treat her with genuine respect," commented Japanese netizen with account named Yuma Tsuhara.

Separately, citing France Inter, Japan's Nikkan Gendai reported on Friday that US President Donald Trump clashed with Takaichi during a working dinner at the recently concluded G7 Summit, prompting other world leaders to step in and mediate. The tense exchange erupted after Trump talked about a US strike on Iran and drew a direct parallel between the operation and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Ichiro Ozawa, a former member of Japan's House of Representatives, pinned a June 5 report from the Mainichi Shimbun to the top of his X timeline. The article noted approval ratings for the Takaichi cabinet had slipped below 50 percent among young voters for the first time.

His accompanying comment read: "Drive prices ever higher, let the population dwindle further, line pockets with unending illicit slush funds, wear away public morality little by little, dismantle this nation piece by piece, and ultimately lead it to collapse… This is precisely what supporting the LDP means. You are simply tightening the noose around your own neck… It is time people wake up."

According to Lü, while achieving negligible progress in economic recovery and public welfare improvement, the Takaichi cabinet has aggressively advanced far-right and neo-militarist agendas. "Such radical policies have not only exacerbated domestic social divisions and damaged Japan's international reputation, but also undermined the country's overall security environment."