Canberra: In New Zealand this week, the commander of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet told reporters that the Biden administration would compensate for Washington's 20-year "neglect" of the South Pacific by "engaging more deeply" with the region. Pacific countries meanwhile have urged Washington to avoid superpower competition.
In response to growing concerns that the South Pacific has become another battleground in the escalating geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing, an Australian academic claimed that neither the US nor China addressed the Pacific Island countries' "primary concerns". "Sufficient effort has been made to remove it. (PIC).
Sadly, no major power is making a significant effort to address the issue of climate change to enhance the welfare of those living in the South Pacific, the speaker claimed. Pacific island states have stated several times that the greatest threat to their security and continued existence is climate change.
The expert's remarks came as representatives from 16 Pacific island countries and territories gathered in Hawaii for the Pacific Island Leaders' Conference of Leaders (PICL) conference, which was sponsored by the US government. The two-day conference concluded on Wednesday.
Later this month, US President Joe Biden will also host leaders of Pacific island nations at the White House amid growing US concerns about Beijing's growing influence in the region.
The academic said Beijing's entry into the region could lead to "security tensions" with traditional regional powers, as he highlighted that expanding security cooperation with Pacific states is also one of the goals of China's policy in the region. was one of them.
He said there are concerns in Canberra, as well as other Western partners, about the security cooperation agreement between China and the Solomon Islands, which was formally unveiled in April this year.
Beijing and Honiara have maintained that the security agreement in Canberra will not lead to the establishment of a Chinese military base in the Pacific amid concerns that a potential Chinese base could affect the Australian military's "patrol pattern".
He speculates that China was asking for fishing rights and access to the region's natural resources, including timber.
Beijing has urged Australia and New Zealand to separate their foreign policies from Washington, as well as saying it welcomes trilateral and multilateral cooperation projects in the South Pacific.
After ending an eight-nation tour of the Pacific in June, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared, "We have no intention of competing with anyone for any influence, nor are we in any geopolitical competition." Interested in getting involved."
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