Postcard From PIF: Pacific Leaders Gather As China Looms

Alii from Palau. Leaders are gathering in Koror for the annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). They will be discussing the issues that matter not only to the region but also to its partners, including Australia and the United States. I am back as a guest of President Surangel Whipps Jr.

But this week people are here for the region’s most important yearly gathering. The theme for the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Meeting is ‘BELAU – Building Economies: Life. Action. Unity’. ‘Belau’ happens to be the name for Palau in the local language.

Building economies is increasingly the focus for the Pacific. That means jobs, infrastructure, transportation, communications, health care and housing – things that many people elsewhere in the world take for granted but are a daily struggle for many who live in the islands. Action is needed, but everything seems to take longer here – because of the tyranny of distance and the problems of scale. While Pacific nations are increasingly expert at playing one suitor against another for assistance – repeating the motto ‘friends of all, enemies of no one’ – this is efficient for neither the Pacific nations nor their partners, and it can divide the region. This, in turn, hinders achievement of unity and the Pacific Way favouring community and consensus.

The Pacific islands encompass about 28 percent of the world’s exclusive economic zones. Their EEZs have more area than the land mass of China and Russia combined. The region truly is a blue continent and has long been a maritime crossroads. Today it is where the contest between China and nations such as Australia, the United States, Japan and their friends is intensifying.

Taiwanese participation in the forum caused a stoush last year when the host, Solomon Islands, decided not to invite the forum’s dialogue or development partners, which included Taiwan.

But Palau is one of 12 nations in the world with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, so it was almost sure to invite Taiwan this year. China’s reaction to Taiwan’s attendance has been muted publicly. Its spokesperson said, ‘Beijing urges the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to abide by the one-China principle and properly handle Taiwan-related issues to avoid disrupting the sound and steady development of the relations between China and the PIF.’

Beijing may also be working behind the scenes to prevent further discussion at the forum about an unannounced Chinese test of a ballistic missile that passed over several Pacific islands in July before splashing down near Tuvalu. This missile test came right after a landmark defence agreement finalised between Australia and Fiji. The test was reportedly an intense topic of debate at the forum’s foreign ministers’ meeting on 7 August, but there was no consensus on what Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said had been ‘destabilising to the region.’

China’s role in the Pacific is increasingly a challenge for Pacific island countries and their partners. While China is a significant donor to Pacific nations, we see daily reminders that it is intensely focused on gaining influence among them. Examples are illegal, unregistered and unreported fishing by its fishing fleets and their damage to coastal environments, incursions into island EEZs by Chinese ‘research’ vessels, China’s potential dual-use of ports and other facilities, its assistance to security services, including training, and its political interference and the corruption that it promotes.

And to be fair, it is sometimes hard for targeted governments and partner nations to untangle the web of Chinese involvement in the islands. Some is no doubt legitimate business. Some is undoubtedly tied to Chinese Triads and international criminal networks with some involved as victims of scams and trafficking of persons. Some may be directed or influenced by the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department. And some is indeed malign and malicious activity by China and its agents aimed at disrupting or damaging long-standing relationships between the islands and their traditional partners. I saw all of this firsthand while serving as the US ambassador to Palau.

I’ll keep you posted on news from the Pacific Islands Forum.

John Hennessey-Niland is a former US ambassador to Palau.

Image of the PIF flags: Pacific Islands Forum.

AI contributed no ideas to this article – John Hennessey-Niland.

This article appeared originally at The Strategist (ASPI).