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The Pacific is strategically cautious with China

Experts say that it is necessary to clearly recognize the will and ability to consider the losses of the Pacific island nation when making security-related decisions.

The focus of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip to the South Pacific has been on a conference in Fiji between him and representatives of 10 countries in the region, where Beijing proposed a large-scale security cooperation agreement. great. Despite sending many good and reassuring messages before the meeting on May 30, China still did not reach a general agreement as expected.

The Pacific is strategically cautious with China - Photo 1

Foreign Minister of China (left) and Prime Minister of Fiji

AFP

Consider and choose

Comment with Youth yesterday, Dr. Denghua Zhang (specialist in ) policy Chinese Foreign Affairs at the School of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University) said that the Chinese side has always stated that it wants to show its commitments and support to the region, but the security treaty between China – Archipelago Solomon and the US-China geostrategic competition has raised concerns about the implications and implications for regional security of Beijing’s proposed deal with the Pacific island nations. “This is one of the main reasons why China has not been able to conclude a comprehensive agreement with 10 partner countries in the Pacific as expected during Wang’s visit,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Dr Bryce Wakefield (country executive director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs) told Thanh Nien that the refusal to sign the agreement should be seen as a very clear sign that the islands Pacific nations have a will of their own to act and make clear choices in their own foreign relations and responses to specific concerns in the region. Assoc. aware of what such security orientations can bring to them.

Taking a closer look at the reasons, Dr. Wakefield said that the Pacific island nations are cautious about their dependence on China related to the agreement. “Even if a few countries China has access to comfortably sign bilateral development agreements, most countries have concerns about the security provisions of a more comprehensive agreement,” he said. . China is trying to present this as the beginning of the negotiations. However, the fact that countries like Samoa – which has signed its own agreements with China – also say a more comprehensive agreement needs to be discussed at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). This suggests that any broad multilateral agreement with strong security provisions is also impossible.” He pointed out that PIF operates on a consensus basis and this forum has the participation of Australia, New Zealand and some countries that recognize Taiwan, so it will never agree to an agreement like the one offered by China.

“This means that Solomon’s previous agreement was an exception rather than a sure harbinger of presence military China’s power throughout the region. Most of the Pacific island nations are more cautious than the Solomons in this game,” according to Dr. Wakefield.

Increased strategic competition

Regarding the reactions of other countries, experts say that Australia, New Zealand and their allies will probably breathe a sigh of relief after the concerns. According to Dr. Zhang, the Pacific region is increasingly caught up in the geostrategic competition between traditional powers and China. Mr. Zhang hailed Mr. Wang’s visit as another sign of Beijing’s rapid engagement and attachment to the region. Meanwhile, Australia and its allies did not sit back and watch. For example, the new Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in Fiji just 24 hours after returning from the Security Quartet summit in Japan. Mr. Zhang commented with YouthIn the near future, the traditional powers will significantly increase their presence in the region to counterbalance China’s influence.

Meanwhile, Dr. Wakefield said that although the aforementioned joint agreement was not signed would be welcomed by Australia, New Zealand and the US, it would not necessarily be seen as a victory for these countries. He considered Foreign Minister Wong’s proactive shuttle diplomacy a welcome outcome of the new government in Australia, but said it was probably too late to make any real impact. However, the new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently affirmed that the leaders Pacific There was a very positive response to Australia’s move to re-engage in the region.

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