Beijing will continue to push Pacific nations to sign onto a sweeping regional security, and economy deal after a May 30 conference saw the Chinese regime’s original proposal fall flat.
According to the Chinese state-owned Xinhua, Wang Yi, the regime’s foreign minister, said Beijing would continue to “make greater efforts to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership” with Pacific island nations in the long term.
In the meantime, the Chinese Communist Party and leaders from 10 Pacific nations did pledge cooperation in a range of areas, including infrastructure, maritime industries, pandemic response, and climate change.
Last week, details of the China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision emerged—a comprehensive regional deal across 10 Pacific nations (with existing ties to Beijing) covering free trade, fisheries, and sensitive areas such as security, cyber, and maritime mapping.
The move was a significant step forward for the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitions in the region, with foreign policy expert John Lee, saying Beijing likely overplayed its hand and exposed its partners in the Pacific to international pressure.
“Pacific leaders will have to explain to angry and anxious populations why they are prepared to conclude agreements with irreversible strategic and security consequences.”
In fact, the proposed deal has alarmed some leaders, with David Panuelo, president of the Federated States of Micronesia, earlier writing to 21 fellow heads of state warning that the pact could trigger a new “Cold War.”
“The practical impacts, however, of Chinese control over our communications infrastructure, our ocean territory and the resources within them, and our security space, aside from impacts on our sovereignty, is that it increases the chances of China getting into conflict with Australia, Japan, the United States, and New Zealand,” he wrote.
The president of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr., also called on fellow Pacific leaders to learn from past experience.
On May 26, Wang and the Solomon Islands foreign minister said in a statement that all agreements signed between the governments had been “effectively implemented” while pledging to work together on Belt and Road Initiative projects, agriculture, fisheries, and other areas.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has been criticized for signing a security deal with the Chinese Communist Party that could pave the way for Beijing to station troops, weapons, and naval ships in the region—opening the door for the eventual militarization of the South Pacific.
The island of Guadalcanal was the site of extensive fighting during World War II between Allied Forces and Imperial Japan because of its strategic position and influence over surrounding sea lanes.
Concerns have been raised that Beijing could fund and upgrade a World War II-era airstrip in Kiribati that could also be another strategic foothold.
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