As regional competition intensifies, Pacific island leaders visit China

BEIJING (VOA) – Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele and Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlotte Salwai are visiting China this week.

The visit comes as Beijing seeks to develop bilateral ties with the two South Pacific nations and amid growing competition for influence in the region with Australia, the United States and other countries.

Last week, China donated a presidential palace to Vanuatu, while Australia and New Zealand opened an airport in the Solomon Islands. Last week, during his first foreign visit to Australia, Manele sought Canberra’s support to double the police force in the Solomon Islands.

Analysts believe the airport and Australia’s security support are two key issues that China will focus on during Manele’s visit this week.

“China looks at everything that happens in the region from a comparative perspective, and recent developments (in Solomon Islands-Australia relations) will be at the forefront of Chinese attention,” Michael Walsh, a visiting fellow at the University of Munich’s Laski Center for Transatlantic Studies, told VOA by phone.

Some experts say the top priority for Manele is to resolve the Solomon Islands’ economic problems.

“(Since) the Solomon Islands economy is in a precarious state, Manele wants to prove to Solomon Islanders that his government’s close relationship with Beijing will bring tangible economic benefits to their daily lives,” Parker Novak, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Center, told VOA by phone.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that before the visit, the two sides will focus on discussing issues of common concern and the development of Sino-US relations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said that Manele’s visit will be “an excellent opportunity for both sides to work together to further strengthen strategic communication, expand practical cooperation and promote the development of bilateral relations.”

The Solomon Islands deepened its ties with China during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, including signing a police cooperation agreement with Beijing.

Manele served as Solomon Islands foreign minister during Sogavare’s tenure, and some analysts expect him to maintain a similar foreign policy agenda.

“He said he would stick to his standard position of ‘friends with everybody and enemies with nobody’ with the Solomon Islands,” said Tess Newton Cain, adjunct associate professor at Australia’s Griffith Asia Institute.

“(While) the core elements of Solomon Islands foreign policy will not change significantly under Manele, he will be more moderate in setting out the government’s foreign policy agenda,” Kane told Voice of America By phone.

After visiting Australia, Manele told reporters that discussions to seek Canberra’s support for expanding the Solomon Islands police force would not affect the island nation’s security arrangements with Beijing.

“Arrangements with the People’s Republic of China, including police cooperation arrangements, will continue to stand,” he said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

After visiting China, Manele will travel to Japan from July 16 to 18 to attend the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders’ Meeting.

Despite its failed attempt to reach a regional security agreement with 10 Pacific island nations in 2022, China continues to seek opportunities to increase its influence in the Pacific.

China signed a police cooperation agreement with the Solomon Islands last year and has offered to provide security support to Tonga at the Pacific Islands Forum in August. Tongan Prime Minister Siosi Sovalenei said he was considering the offer.

Meanwhile, Kiribati Acting Police Commissioner Eeri Aritiera told Reuters The news agency reported in February that a Chinese police delegation would support the island nation’s community policing programs and IT sector, raising concerns among some U.S. lawmakers.

In January, Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tekachenko revealed the country was in preliminary talks with China on a potential security and policing agreement, prompting a senior U.S. official to warn that security guarantees from Beijing could come at a cost.

As China has positioned itself as a security stakeholder in the Pacific, some experts say Beijing is likely to continue to build security partnerships with countries in the region.

“China seeks to strengthen its presence in the Pacific through existing policing mechanisms and the growing maritime presence of its coast guard fleet,” said Anna Powles, associate professor of security studies at Massey University in New Zealand.

The United States and other democracies have sought in recent years to counter China’s growing security presence in the Pacific as China seeks to expand its security footprint in the region, including Washington’s efforts to sign a security agreement with Papua New Guinea by 2023.

Despite these attempts, Walsh said in Munich that China was still making inroads in several Pacific island nations, including Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

“There doesn’t seem to be an effective response from the West,” he told Voice of America.

Griffith Asia Institute’s Cain said there was also a question of whether the security agreement met the needs of Pacific island nations.

“While Pacific island nations do not believe China poses any military threat to them, they need to have relevant security dialogues with the countries (they are engaging) to discuss their real concerns,” she told reporters. Voice of America.

Novak told the Atlantic Council that in order to safeguard their interests, regional countries will likely strive to build positive relations with all external partners, whether it is the United States, Australia or China.

“They believe (doing so) will ensure regional stability and sovereignty,” he told Voice of America…… Pacific News Network

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