New Great Game in the South Pacific Flashcards
China’s Expansion of Power in the Region
China is worried about QUAD (India, US, Australia, and Japan) gaining more influence in the region, so it also started to woo these island nations.
The great power competition in the Pacific, has led to some Pacific Island countries engaging in hedging behavior.
China is trying not just to increase its influence in the Pacific, but also to undermine the US and Australian influence.
China has been engaged in a charm offensive, focussing on the Pacific Island Countries for some time, through sustained political, economic, and other efforts.
Beijing sees the south pacific as its sphere of influence and is playing the long-term game by substantially increasing its presence in the region like the signing of an MoU(memorandum of understanding) with ten countries.
Solomon island’s decision to cut ties with Taiwan and follow ‘one china policy
The US Apprehensions and its Countermeasure
US President Joe Biden became the first-ever US President to participate in the virtual gathering of the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) leaders.
Announced its intention to reopen its embassy in the Solomon Islands after it was closed in 1993.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also visited Pacific Island nations. He became the first US secretary to visit Fiji in 36 years.
White House delegation led by Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell also visited these islands.
Viewpoints of Pacific Island Nations:
Some countries had raised concerns that it could become the epicenter of a future great power confrontation.
While others have argued that it’s their sovereign right to diversify security partners which are being guided by their national interest by reducing dependence on Australia
What are the Implications for India?
It can be correlated with the Maldives, where earlier also China has invested in its debt trap policy.
India needs to provide these small and vulnerable countries with sustainable economic help coupled with providing innovative solutions to climate change as well.
India needs to step up its game, for example setting up the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and further enhancing cooperation between these island economies, to unlock the underutilized potential.
Though these countries are relatively small in land area and distant from India, many have large Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), and offer promising possibilities for fruitful cooperation.
WAY forward.
With the rising belligerence of China and counterbalancing by the USA, there is the emergence of new competition among superpowers.
It’s a manifestation of challenging times ahead in the South Pacific, India needs to navigate carefully in these troubled waters and churn out its best possible national interest without indulging in great power rivalry.
What is PIF?
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of the Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum (SPF), and changed its name in 1999 to “Pacific Islands Forum”, so as to be more inclusive of the Forum’s Oceania-spanning membership of both north and south Pacific island countries, including Australia. It is a United Nations General Assembly observer.
The Forum grew out of a proposal from Cook Islander Premier Albert Henry
Membership -18 states
Secretary General- Cook Islands Henry Puna
Establishment • as South Pacific Forum 1971 • renamed Pacific Islands Forum 1999
Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC)
Forum for India-Pacific Islands cooperation (FIPIC) is a multinational grouping developed in 2014 for cooperation between India and 14 Pacific Islands nations which include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. All heads of state or heads of government of the above countries met in Suva, Fiji in November 2014 for the first time where the annual summit was conceptualised.
1st Summit-Suva, Fiji
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi chose to visit Fiji soon after democracy was re-established in the island country after 8 years.
It was quite significant to see Chinese President Xi following Modi’s trail visited Fiji on 21 November (just 2 days after Modi’s trip) to meet a similar gathering of leaders indicating a struggle for influence between the two Asian giants in the island countries of south pacific.
2nd Summit-Jaipur, India
One of the key outcome of the first summit in Suva, Fiji was that top leadership of both India and Pacific Islands should meet at a regular interval and an annual summit should be instituted in this regard. Modi invited all the 14 Pacific Islands nations head of states/head of government to India for the next rounds of talks in 2015 and North Indian city of Jaipur, which is also known as Pink city, was selected to host the main summit on 21 August 2015.
In Jaipur summit, Modi announced to convene international conference on blue economy in New Delhi in 2016 and invited all the experts form the island nations, set up Space Application Center, in partnership with ISRO, in any of the 14 countries and friendly port calls by the Indian Navy. Pacific leaders have expressed their concerns over climate change and its effect on their respective counties.
