China’s outreach to pacific islands angers West

May 27, 2022 News

…as Australia warns of growing security threat to the region

Kaieteur News – China has proposed a sweeping regional security deal with a number of Pacific Island nations, amid concerns from the United States and its allies including Australia about Beijing’s expanding reach in the region.

Solomon Islands Foreign Minister, Jeremiah Manele (L) and Chief Protocole, Walter Diamana (R) escort Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi (C) upon his arrival in Honiara on May 25, 2022

The draft proposal that was sent by China to potential partners in the South Pacific calls for greater cooperation in security, policing and cybersecurity, and in economic development, among other areas.
As a result, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a 20-member strong delegation arrived in the Solomon Islands on Thursday and kicked off the eight-nation tour.
The Chinese government has since inked a pact with the leaders of the Solomon Islands that would see the Asian giant providing support to the pacific nation in the area of security and other sectors.
Australia subsequently sought to counter the move by sending its own Foreign Minister Penny Wong to Fiji to shore up support in the Pacific.
Wong was on the job just five days following an Australian election and had just arrived back Wednesday night from a meeting in Tokyo.
“We need to respond to this because this is China seeking to increase its influence in the region of the world where Australia has been the security partner of choice since the Second World War,” Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Meanwhile, the Media Association of Solomon Islands was calling on its members to boycott a news conference being held in the capital, Honiara, by Wang and his counterpart from the Solomon Islands, Jeremiah Manele.

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Penny Wong

That’s because only selected media were invited to the event, and the schedule allowed for just a single question to be asked of Wang by China’s state-owned broadcaster CCTV.
“It’s a tough call to make regarding the media boycott for the press event on Thursday,” wrote association president Georgina Kekea on Twitter. “Our protest is for our government to see our disappointment. They have failed us and they failed to protect #democracy.”
China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands last month in a move that sent shock waves around the world.
That pact has raised fears that China could send troops to the island nation or even establish a military base there, not far from Australia. The Solomon Islands and China say there are no plans for a base.
A draft document obtained by The Associated Press shows that Wang is hoping to strike a deal with 10 small Pacific nations during his visit. The sweeping agreement covers everything from security to fisheries and is seen by one Pacific leader as an attempt by Beijing to wrest control of the region.
Wang is hoping the countries will endorse the pre-written agreement as part of a joint communique after a May 30 meeting in Fiji with the other foreign ministers.
During his 10-day visit, Wang was also planning to make stops in Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.
Last month, Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare made assurances that Honiara’s deal with Beijing would complement an existing security agreement with Australia and would not adversely impact or undermine the peace and harmony of the region.
The Solomons is around 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from Australia’s northeastern coast.
Nevertheless, in a mark of the Albanese government’s concern about Chinese expansion in the region, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong travelled to Fiji on Thursday, where—in a speech that didn’t name China directly—she pitched Australia as a partner that doesn’t come with strings attached, nor imposing unsustainable financial burdens.
“We are a partner that won’t erode Pacific priorities or Pacific institutions. We believe in transparency. We believe in true partnerships,” Wong said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday she was very strongly of the view that the Pacific has the means and ability to respond to any security challenges that exist.
Beijing has not confirmed it is seeking a multilateral agreement in the region.
Wang’s visit was meant to further strengthen high-level exchange, consolidate political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, and deepen people-to-people bond so as to build an even closer community with a shared future for China and Pacific Island countries, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.