In a setback for Beijing’s interests, leaders of the Pacific islands meeting in Fiji for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic pledged on Thursday not to sign security agreements before consulting each other.
The information was shared by Henry Puna, from the Cook Islands, current secretary general of the forum that brings together the archipelagos of the region. The weight of the declaration lies in the fact that, in the midst of the dispute with the US for influence in the Pacific, China had tried to forge a regional security pact with the island nations, which was rejected.
The islands went further and, through Puna, claimed to have rejected the type of Chinese approach that offered the agreement, which also had general trade-oriented lines, to ten of the 18 forum members without prior consultation time and without joint talks. .
Indirectly referring to the influence of Washington and Beijing, the secretary-general said that the Pacific islands “cannot afford to be anyone’s enemy”. “There are opportunities that we have to take advantage of, but certain issues, like security, have regional impacts, so leaders need to talk to each other.”
The Chinese advance in the region became more evident in April, when an agreement was signed with the Solomon Islands. Messages also came from the archipelago’s premier, Manasseh Sogavar, on Thursday. In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, he refuted that the agreement means the possibility of deploying a Chinese military base in the country.
He also said that this would make the Solomon Islands a regional enemy and a target for potential threats. Sogavar said that Australia would remain the country’s priority partner and that the deployment of security agents from Beijing would only be requested if there was a vacuum of support that Canberra could not fill.
“If there is any gap, we will not allow our country to go down the drain. We will ask for China’s support. But we have made it very clear to Australians that they are the main partner when it comes to security issues in the region. .”
The US, meanwhile, gained more space at the meeting in Fiji, with Vice President Kamala Harris having been invited to participate in a virtual meeting. It announced the opening of two new US embassies in the region —one in Tonga, the other in Kiribati—, as well as the tripling of US funding for the region over the next ten years —to US$60 million—, something that yet to be approved by Congress.
The state-run newspaper Global Times, critical of Washington, said the strategy outlined by Harris prioritizes the geopolitics of combating China over the needs of the region. “Pacific islands tend not to take sides between China and the US, but will notice US attempts to turn the South Pacific into the forefront of competition against China,” the Chinese publication said.
