Anthony Albanese has secured regional support for his Pacific Policing Initiative, which the Australian prime minister says will "strengthen collective peace and security".
The Australian prime minister made his first appearance at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga on  Wednesday morning, and spent it lobbying members for its support.
At a hastily-arranged press conference, he appeared with counterparts from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Palau to trumpet its support.
"This is a Pacific led initiative, that's very important," he said.
"This is something that has arisen from the Pacific family to look after the Pacific family ourselves, our Pacific neighbours stand with each other, and we help each other in times of need."
The Pacific Policing Initiative (PPI) has three elements: police training "centres of excellence" in the Pacific, a multi-country police force ready to deploy across the region, and a Brisbane-based co-ordination hub.
Australia will spend $400 million over five years on the PPI, including building up to four of the centres of excellence through the region.
"The security of the Pacific is the shared responsibility of the Pacific region and this initiative benefits each of our nations," Mr Albanese said.
The PPI looked to be in trouble earlier on Wednesday morning.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) - comprised of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia - expressed reservations after their meeting.
MSG director-general Leonard Louma called it worthy but "cryptic", suggesting it was part of a wider security play by Canberra.
"This PPI must be genuinely framed to fit our purposes and not conveniently developed as part of the geo-strategic denial security doctrine of our big partners," he said.
The initiative is widely seen by analysts as a rebuke to China's efforts to grow its own policing and security footprint in the region.