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 by AFP Staff Writers Suva, Fiji (AFP) May 30, 2022
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with leaders and top officials from ten Pacific Island nations Monday, part of a regional diplomatic blitz that has stirred deep Western concern. The virtual summit is expected to discuss leaked proposals for China to radically increase its involvement in the security, economy and politics of the South Pacific. Wang is in the Fijian capital Suva, where he will co-host a virtual meeting with regional foreign ministers -- many of whom are also leaders of the small island states. On the table is a secret deal -- obtained by AFP -- that would see China train local police, become involved in cybersecurity, expand political ties, conduct sensitive marine mapping and gain greater access to natural resources on land and in the water. As an enticement, Beijing is offering millions of dollars in financial assistance, the prospect of a China-Pacific Islands free trade agreement and access to China's vast market of 1.4 billion people. Ahead of the meeting, President Xi Jinping sent a message that China would be "a good brother" to the region and that they shared a "common destiny", according to state broadcaster CCTV. Only Pacific nations that recognise China over Taiwan will attend today's summit, including those Wang has already visited on his regional whistle-stop -- Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. The proposal comes as Beijing jostles with Washington and its allies over influence in the strategically vital Pacific. - Balancing act - Analysts say the deal is unlikely to be unanimously approved by Pacific Island leaders today. A recent security deal between the Solomon Islands and China caused deep unease in a region that is usually more concerned by climate change than superpower politics. "The Solomons came off as an outlier, there wasn't a rush of interest," said Richard Herr, an academic at the University of Tasmania who has decades of experience working in the Pacific Islands. The region will be hesitant about "being dragged into geostrategic competition," he said. There has already been some pushback to Beijing's latest proposal, including from President of the Federated States of Micronesia David Panuelo, who warned other Pacific leaders it could cause "the fracturing of regional peace, security, and stability". The president of Palau, a Pacific nation that maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, told the ABC Monday that the region "should be concerned" about the proposed deals. Western powers have bristled against the deals, with the US State Department warning the Pacific to be wary of "shadowy, vague deals with little transparency" with China. Australia joined the United States in urging South Pacific nations to spurn China's attempts to expand its security reach deep into the region, with the country's new foreign minister warning of the "consequences" of such deals. But many Pacific nations are also keen to maintain amicable ties with China, balancing relations between Beijing and Washington or playing each off against the other. So it is far from clear what Pacific Island leaders will tell Wang Monday or in a series of closed-door meetings around the South Pacific. "It's hard to believe that the Chinese foreign minister will come to the region and be told to go home," said Herr. "It could be an embarrassment. Every Chinese diplomat in the region will be working on that." - 'Traditional influence - Wang said Sunday that Beijing was willing to work with other major powers in the Pacific region to help island nations develop. "China is willing to carry out more tripartite cooperation with other countries, especially countries with traditional influence in the region," he said when he met with Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna. He described his Pacific tour as "a trip of peace, friendship and cooperation," according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry. Wang is expected to remain in Fiji's capital until at least Tuesday, meeting with the country's leaders and hosting the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' meeting. The Chinese foreign minister will visit Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Tonga -- just months after the island nation was devastated by a deadly earthquake and tsunami -- to round out his tour.
Pacific 'very positive' on Australian re-engagement: PM The comments from Anthony Albanese -- aired Sunday in an interview with Sky News -- came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Fiji for closely watched meetings with the island nation's leaders and other Pacific foreign ministers. Wang, who began his South Pacific tour Thursday in Solomon Islands, is expected to discuss with his fellow foreign ministers a wide-ranging draft agreement and five-year plan, which was leaked last week. The leaked drafts, obtained by AFP, were circulated to at least 10 Pacific nations ahead of the Fiji meeting, sparking concern about Beijing's ambitions to dramatically expand security and economic cooperation within the South Pacific. - Australia 'dropped the ball' - Albanese was scathing in his assessment of the former Australian government's Pacific plan, saying it had "dropped the ball" in the region -- blaming both foreign aid cuts and "a non-engagement on values". "For our Pacific Island neighbours, the issue of climate change is an absolute national security issue," he said. In addition to increased action on the environment, Albanese touted a boost in aid and a plan to set up a defence training school in the Pacific. During Australia's recent election campaign, Albanese's centre-left Labor party said the school would involve forces from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Albanese said Australia's renewed diplomatic push in the Pacific, which began with a visit to Fiji by new foreign minister Penny Wong, had been well-received. "The response has been very positive," he said. Australia and China have been locked in a tense duel for influence in the Pacific, after Beijing last month surprised Canberra by securing a wide-ranging security pact with Solomon Islands. Foreign Minister Wong urged South Pacific nations to spurn China's attempts to extend its security reach across the region while in Fiji on Friday. "We have expressed our concerns publicly about the security agreement," Wong told reporters in the capital of Suva. - Climate change key focus - Chinese foreign minister Wang said China was willing to work with other major powers in the Pacific region to help island nations develop. "China is willing to carry out more tripartite cooperation with other countries, especially countries with traditional influence in the region" to help island countries accelerate their development, Wang said when he met Sunday with Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna. "It is a trip of peace, friendship and cooperation," Wang said, according to a statement about the meeting by the Chinese foreign ministry. Wang is expected to remain in Fiji's capital until at least Tuesday, meeting with the country's leaders and hosting the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' meeting. Puna said economic recovery from the pandemic and "urgent and ambitious climate change action" were key issues for their discussion. "We welcome China's climate change commitments," Puna said. Wang's whistle-stop tour of the Pacific previously took him to Kiribati, where he signed 10 memorandums of understanding covering climate change, economic cooperation and other issues -- although a security agreement was not among them. He also visited Samoa, where he signed a bilateral agreement on Saturday promising "greater collaboration". Wang is expected to visit Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to round out his tour.
Solomon Islands confirms 'milestone' China visit Sydney (AFP) May 24, 2022 China's foreign minister will make a "milestone" visit to Solomon Islands this week, the island state said, after the two nations sealed a wide-ranging security pact last month. Foreign Minister Wang Yi's trip comes at a time of heightened United States and Australian concern about China's intentions in the South Pacific. The Solomon Islands government confirmed the China visit in a statement Monday - the day Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was sworn into office. Prime Minister ... read more
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