Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been left angered by a hot mic moment at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga.

Mr Albanese was caught asking a US diplomat to “go halvies” on a $400 million policing initiative.

The Prime Minister has questioned the ethics of the New Zealand journalist who published the story, saying they should have never been published or even rebroadcast.

Mr Albanese spent the first day of the Pacific Islands Forum securing support for the initiative before the incident with US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.