Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Pacific security challenges should and can be handled by countries in the region, according to Samoan Pr...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Pacific security challenges should and can be handled by countries in the region, according to Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, who also stated that given China's size, it remains an attractive economic partner.
China's expanding influence in the Pacific, as well as the threat of militarization in the South Pacific's small island states, has alarmed Australia and New Zealand, as well as its partner, the United States.
"Everyone is interested in China - they're a massive market, in terms of purchasing power, and so on," Mata'afa said during an official visit to New Zealand in an interview with Reuters.
The Solomon Islands signed a security treaty with Beijing earlier this year, highlighting China's growing regional influence.
"As a region, we need to address the (security) issue in the context of what we already have in place," Mata'afa added, referring to previous regional security agreements.
She noted that a next Pacific Islands Forum leaders gathering would explore if more might be done on the security front so that other island nations don't feel compelled to look beyond the group.
The Forum brings together 18 island republics from Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, to represent the Pacific's three cultural and geographic divisions. While some nations have diplomatic links with Taiwan, the majority of members recognise Beijing.
Historically, Australia and New Zealand have been the island states' primary security and aid allies, providing development and disaster relief as well as military help when required.
Mata'afa said that the region was becoming more polarised, but that China has long been a diplomatic and economic partner, and that "what I don't like is if there are aspects of racism in the conversation."
The region had been encased in the much wider Indo-Pacific and needed to be given more of a voice, she added, and was no longer just part of the "Blue Pacific" story.
"Now America is essentially seeking a comeback." And I believe that has increased Australia and New Zealand's role and function," she added. "A lot of geopolitical arrangements are altering."
For example, Mata'afa believes that South Pacific countries should have been consulted on the formation of AUKUS, a security grouping that includes Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which was announced last year.
She said she had recently asked both New Zealand and Australian leaders whether they keep their Pacific family in mind while discussing politics with countries like the United States and China.
CHANGE IN THE CLIMATE
The Pacific Island Forum's upcoming in-person summit will be critical in ensuring a united voice on the global arena, Mata'afa added, especially after northern Pacific countries threatened to abandon the grouping.
While the geopolitical fight was timely, Mata'afa said the region's main difficulties were COVID-19 recovery and broader health issues, as well as climate change.
"There's the immediate consequence of rising seas and coastline erosion... and the increased frequency of catastrophic disasters now," she remarked.
"Natural catastrophes have emerged as a crucial component in the region's growth trajectory. You take a few steps ahead, are hit by a storm, and the situation is reversed."
Climate change has very significant sovereignty consequences for Pacific countries, since islands faced the prospect of shrinking or disappearing.
"We don't have the luxury of moving to another region of the country because of our land masses," she explained.
