13 December 2021 10:06
It is one of those apparently microscopic information that allows us to understand a much broader mechanism: the United States, Japan and Australia will finance the drafting of a submarine communication cable between the islands of Nauru, Kiribati and the federation of the islands of Micronesia. The cable will improve the internet connection for one hundred thousand people who live scattered over dozens of islands in Oceania.
A priori it does not seem like a particularly important fact, but in reality the financing expels a large company, which as you may have guessed is the Chinese Huawei, which is favored to obtain financing from the World Bank. Washington did not intend to allow the Chinese company, banned from the American networks, to extend its influence in the Pacific, especially in the states of Micronesia linked by special agreements to the United States and in particular to Guam, where there is an American military base.
Check diplomacy
It is yet another sign of the Cold War context that increasingly involves the planet in its entirety and specifically an area of the Pacific where Chinese influence is palpable.
An example of this tension comes from the Solomon Islands, further south, an archipelago inhabited by 700,000 people that two years ago broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan for the benefit of Beijing, in what is called “checkbook diplomacy”. Last month the archipelago was rocked by an uprising and had to ask Australia for help to restore order.
The protesters’ target was the Chinese quarter of the capital, Honiara, which was partially set on fire. At the origin of the revolt are the rivalries between the two main islands, the economic difficulties and also a disagreement on the turn in favor of China and its economic advantages, divided unequally. Malaita Island authorities refuse to recognize Beijing and remain tied to Taipei.
Often real and sometimes imaginary, Chinese influence thus becomes a divisive factor throughout the peaceful region. It was also discussed recently on the sidelines of the referendum of 12 December in the French territory of New Caledonia, in the South Pacific, where the no to independence prevailed.
In turn, the United States has resorted to checkbooks, and not just in the Pacific. Westerners have been displaced by the strategy of the New Chinese Silk Roads, which involves the construction of infrastructures financed by Beijing and allows China to extend its influence on all continents.
Now the United States and Europe have taken a counterattack by creating additional funds to finance infrastructure. The US Congress has approved a billion dollar credit for the Pacific Islands which also includes the submarine cable in question.
Recently the European Union announced a program called Global gateway (global portal) theoretically endowed with 300 billion euros, although it is not clear to what extent these are new funds. The Americans, for their part, have launched the Build back better world partnership (3BW), an initiative with rather vague outlines. China has clearly accumulated an advantage in this area.
Western emulation of China would be good news if at least it aimed at the development of the world and was not based solely on rivalries between powers. While waiting to see how it will end, if the initiative allows the inhabitants of Kiribati to communicate better, it will still be a great deal.
(Translation by Andrea Sparacino)
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