In light of growing geopolitical contestation in the Indo-Pacific and increased tensions from multiple actors, the European Union (EU) released the 2021 Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The Strategy emphasised security and development in the Asia-Pacific region. While the Indo-Pacific has been subjected to rising interest in academic research (Kassab, 2023; Zhu, 2023; Wilkins & Kim, 2022) few studies have investigated Pacific perspectives of this tension. This thesis uses two different actors, China and the EU, both in values and approaches to development and security in the Pacific region. To achieve an insight into an accurate analysis of the regional tension a period following the 2021 release of the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the 2022 Solomon Islands and China security agreement. To achieve this, this research uses media content analysis for the period 1 October – 31 December 2022, then analyses and compares both actors, through the lens of security and development. By comparing these portrayals in Pacific media this thesis argues that the EU is portrayed in Pacific media primarily as an environmental and development actor in the Pacific and that China is portrayed as a significant but contested security actor in the Pacific.