Senator Penny Wong will reflect on her first year as Australia's foreign affairs minister in a speech to the National Press Club on Monday.

She will outline the risks facing the nation in the coming years and how diplomatic relations will be key to avoiding war and shaping Australia's role in the Indo-Pacific.

"Strategic competition is operating on several levels. Domains that we might prefer to separate - economic, diplomatic, strategic, military - all interwoven and all framed by an intense contest of narratives," she will say.

"We need to understand what is being competed for, that it is more than great power rivalry and is in fact nothing less than a contest over the way our region and our world works."

China has attempted to strengthen its ties in the Indo-Pacific through its own security and economic deals with Pacific countries.

But in her first week as foreign minister, Senator Wong travelled to Fiji to progress Australia's relationship with partners in the Pacific.

She will outline how all elements of national power can be used to advance Australia's interests and not allow strategic competition in the region to go unchecked.

"Strategic competition is not merely about who is top dog, who is ahead in the race, or who holds strategic primacy in the Indo-Pacific," she will say.

"It's actually about the character of the region. It's about the rules and norms that underpin our security and prosperity, that ensure our access within an open and inclusive region and that manage competition responsibly."

In a contested region, Senator Wong will argue for a sharpened focus on Australia's values to ensure the fate of the nation is not determined by others.

"It's clear to me from my travels throughout the region that countries don't want to live in a closed, hierarchical region where the rules are dictated by a single major power to suit its own interests," she will say.

"Countries want a region that is peaceful and stable, and that means sufficient balance to deter aggression and coercion.

"Balance to which more players, including Australia, must contribute if it is to be durable."

Senator Wong will say Australia's strong defence forces, and working with regional partners on their own capabilities, will "change the calculus" for potential aggressors.

"We must ensure that no state will ever conclude that the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks. This is fundamental to assuring the safety and security of our nation and our people," she will say.

"Our foreign and defence policies are two essential and interdependent parts of how we make Australia stronger and more influential in the world."

Australian Associated Press