Foreign Affairs
The Prime Minister has pledged more money to tackle climate change during her visit to the Pacific Islands Forum, but spending by the major powers in other areas, including a series of new Pacific initiatives from the United States, has also dominated the agenda, such as Sam Sachdeva reports from Suva
Since climate change is one of Jacinda Ardern’s top priorities, she understandably emphasizes this topic during her visits to the Pacific.
The focus of the Prime Minister’s first day at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva was a visit to the Center for Pacific Crops and Trees, a seed bank that preserves the region’s unique crops and trees to guard against the threat of plant extinction .
Ardern announced a $10 million investment in the center as part of the government’s $1.3 billion climate relief fund, and spoke about the critical nature of his work.
“You’re literally Noah’s Ark: the seeds and plants here, and the gene bank you provide, and it’s so important to us as a region.”
But just as an invasive weed can overwhelm native ecosystems, geopolitical tensions in the Pacific threaten to overwhelm the region’s emphasis on climate action.
The recent battle for a position between the United States and China has contributed to the massive rise of the world media, with about 180 journalists reportedly descending on the capital of Fiji to follow the proceedings.
If constant questions about China’s influence are sure to frustrate some Pacific leaders who see a more existential threat approaching, it can also be difficult to separate the two.
Take Tuvalu, whose Foreign Minister Simon Kofe withdrew from a pivotal United Nations oceans conference in Portugal last week in protest at China’s decision to block the participation of Taiwanese delegates.
Tuvalu is only one of four Pacific countries to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Having previously rejected Chinese rapprochement to change allegiances.
Speaking to Newsroom on the sidelines of the forum, Kofe said the country acknowledged that its position would exert pressure from China, but that the superpower’s threat to challenge the credentials of the entire Tuvalu delegation was a step too far. .
“We would have done it to anyone, whether it was the US or any of the bigger countries that, looked down a bit on countries like Tuvalu, would take the same stance.”
Kofe told Newsroom he didn’t want to speculate on whether China had played a role in Kiribati’s shocking withdrawal from the forum, but said regional geopolitics had been a significant part of the talks at last week’s foreign ministers’ meeting. taken.
“As we see, it only intensifies over time, and so the main message – at least what I’ve heard from members – is that we need to define for ourselves the Pacific Ocean the conditions for our engagement with our partners and with the larger countries outside the region.”
Under pressure from both sides, Tuvalu wanted to “transcend tensions” and focus on the issues of paramount importance to the Pacific.
“We have a history of outside powers coming in and really having a negative impact on the region, so we have to be smart about how we approach it, partners and countries from outside.”
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama did not shy away from the subject during the forum’s opening dialogue on Tuesday morning, speaking of a “fiercely competitive” geopolitical landscape.
“We see a multipolar system emerging, with great rivalry between superpowers, alongside a number of middle powers, all clamoring to shake the world in their favor.”
Forum Secretary General Henry Puna also spoke of “a dynamic and shifting geopolitical landscape that we have no choice but to address,” concluding somewhat ominously: “Our region remains in a precarious position, both in the short and long term. †
US step up in Pacific
And the stage is set for even more talk of rivalry between the Great Powers on Wednesday, when US Vice President Kamala Harris will address the forum and outline a series of new efforts to increase US involvement in the Pacific.
That Harris is even allowed to speak is remarkable, given the apparent decision by forum leaders to cancel the Observer’s Dialogue, in which non-members like the US usually participate. But the pledges are also notable, including opening new embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, appointing an inaugural US envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum and establishing the country’s first-ever Pacific Islands Strategy.
The Biden administration will also ask Congress to nearly triple the amount of annual funding for fishing operations in the region, a 10-year package worth $600 million ($980 million).
In a background briefing ahead of Harris’s speech, a senior government official told media that the vice president’s announcement would reflect “a true partnership based on friendship, respect and transparency.”
“Everything we do related to the region will be in concert with the region – we will listen and consult closely… and we will continue to work constructively and transparently with our Pacific Island partners every step of the way.”
The official acknowledged “an intense interest in, among other things, the Pacific islands”, but rejected suggestions that the package was part of a battle for influence between the US and China.
“Our emphasis is on the positive part of our agenda rather than competition, and we’ve made it clear around the world: we’re not asking countries to choose, we’re not asking countries not to have relations with China if a great important country…
“Of course contrasts will be made, and we would like to think that contrast favors us, where we have been a responsible security actor in the region for decades and respect the entire Indo-Pacific, helping to create a free and open Indo-Pacific. .”
China rises, US declines
But it’s hard to avoid Ardern’s conclusion that, before the new US commitments were made public, China’s increasing activity in the region contrasted with the ‘waning’ US involvement of recent years.
If you leave a gap, it’s hard to express outrage when it’s filled, and Biden’s Indo-Pacific Tsar Kurt Campbell seemed to accept criticism of recent US efforts when I spoke to a New Zealand audience earlier this year.
“For the United States to be effective in the Pacific, we need to do more, and we need to do more in areas that matter.”
China’s own areas of interest will be a topic of discussion when Ardern meets with Solomon Islands leader Manasseh Sogavare on Wednesday.
Ardern didn’t reveal much about what she planned to say, referring to “things I’d like to talk about,” but acknowledged that recent phone conversations with Sogavare about the pact would likely come up again in person.
That diplomatic dance will continue throughout the week, with China’s role in the region seldom explicitly mentioned, but a constant part of the discussions nonetheless.
By contrast, Pacific leaders do not mince words when they talk about the need to tackle climate change, a position Kofe made clear when he asked for more climate finance from New Zealand and other countries to reduce the costs of climate change. to cover expensive mitigation and adaptation efforts.
“We hope to get the support of our partners to fund those projects, but otherwise the government is already looking at a worst-case scenario.
“We have a plan that is now ready to prepare for a situation where we are forced to relocate, and so that’s really where we are now because the trajectory we’re on is that we’re headed for that worst-case scenario. “