[Epoch Times, June 5, 2022]Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a video conference on May 30 with the foreign ministers of the 10 South Pacific countries, but did not sign a broad regional agreement in the end. Experts believe that the timing of the draft agreement has aroused great concern in the West. South Pacific island countries have doubts about the CCP’s cooperation draft and action plan in the region, and cannot agree with the content and promotion methods of the agreement.
The rapid expansion after the agreement
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is currently on a ten-day visit to eight South Pacific island countries. The highlight of Wang Yi’s trip was the second China-Pacific Island Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji in Suva, the capital of Fiji, on May 30. All parties in the Pacific island nations have failed to sign the broad agreement that China had hoped for.
Before Wang Yi’s departure on May 26, a number of Western media disclosed that when Wang Yi chaired a meeting in Fiji, he would try to reach a regional agreement with 10 Pacific island countries covering police affairs, security and data communication cooperation. The full text of the draft agreement, known as the “China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision”, was published in full by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Richard Herr, academic director of the University of Tasmania Law School in Australia, said in an interview with VOA that the timing of the disclosure of the draft agreement has made the United States and Australia and other Western countries very alarmed. .
He said: “The fact that China (the Chinese Communist Party) signed a security cooperation framework with the Solomon Islands at the end of March has alarmed Western democracies, because this region has been protected and supported by Western countries such as the United States and Australia for a long time after World War II, and has always enjoyed friendly relations. The relationship of mutual trust. The United States, Australia and other countries believe that the security agreement between China and China will disrupt regional security and allow China (the CCP) to legally gain a military foothold in the region, just like being invaded by China (the CCP). In less than two months, China (the CCP) once again reached out to ten island countries in the region, and the announced draft agreement also includes sensitive cooperation content such as policing and security. The United States, Australia and other countries are naturally comparable. nervous.”
Professor Lin Tinghui, deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Institute of International Law and member of the Oceanographic Commission, said that in addition to the time issue, the geographical location of the South Pacific is the fundamental reason for the great concern of various countries.
He told VOA: “The agreement negotiated this time comes after the signing of the Security Cooperation Framework Agreement between China and the Solomon Islands. Most of the countries are located between the second island chain and the third island chain, and some people believe that the South Pacific island country is located in the first island chain before Australia and New Zealand, so its geopolitical and strategic position is very important.”
The strategic ambition behind the Belt and Road Initiative
According to the disclosure of the draft agreement, China will provide millions of dollars in aid to 10 South Pacific countries and will establish a free trade area (FTA) to give these countries access to China’s market of 1.4 billion people. At the same time, the CCP will train local police officers for the ten South Pacific countries, participate in local cyber security, smart customs, expand political ties, conduct sensitive ocean mapping, and increase access to local natural resources.
Richard Hull, academic director of the Law School of the University of Tasmania in Australia, believes that the expansion of China’s (CCP) power in the Pacific region over the past 20 years cannot be underestimated.
He said: “The South Pacific is the focus of China and Taiwan’s competition for diplomatic power. China (the CCP) first tried to weaken Taiwan’s diplomatic ties. After Xi Jinping came to power, he even used economic means such as the Belt and Road project to reduce China’s (CCP) influence from Business activities began to spread to the Pacific island countries, allowing the island countries to gradually recognize the increasingly important role of China (the CCP) in the region. After more than a decade, China has replaced Australia as the largest export market in the Pacific region, and China (the CCP) main purpose It’s strategic, as you can see from the way it helps.”
Richard Hull pointed out that most of the development projects provided by China (the Chinese Communist Party) are aided by loans, which have burdened the island countries with huge debts, and are mainly Chinese workers, which have not significantly improved the job opportunities of the island countries. Aid modalities vary widely.
Professor Lin Tinghui, a member of the Taiwan Oceanographic Commission, said that in 2002, the CCP demanded Nauru to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and China, which started a diplomatic war between China and Taiwan. After that, the CCP began to set up economic and trade offices in the South Pacific, and used economic bargaining to lure island countries into the police force. service or military system.
He said: “After consolidating economic, trade and fishery relations, China (the Chinese Communist Party) gradually used the military medical system to first establish military medical services with Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga, the only remaining three Pacific island countries with defense departments. Humanitarian aid provided relevant equipment and built medical facilities for the project; in addition, the PLA fleet was used to test the voyage capability of the Chinese military and navy; in addition, for example, a large number of tourist hotels and other tourism industries were built in the Federated States of Micronesia and Fiji, as well as the mining industry It is also gradually monopolized in the hands of China (the CCP). In addition, the Chinese immigrants who have immigrated here can easily monopolize the local economic lifeline, which often leads to local anti-Chinese movements.”
Unable to gain the trust of the island nation
In a May 20 letter to 21 Pacific leaders, Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo said his country believed the “predetermined joint communiqué” should be rejected and he was concerned This could spark a new Cold War between China and the West.
Analysts say Pacific island leaders are concerned about the nature of the deal and the way China is trying to push it ahead of Wang Yi’s trip.
Professor Lin Tinghui, a member of the Taiwan Oceanographic Commission, believes that the reason why the CCP promotes multilateral cooperation is unfavorable, mainly because it ignores the Pacific island countries as a whole and does not allow the differentiation of forces outside the region.
He said: “During the Cold War, former Fiji President Mara proposed the ‘Pacific Way’ (the Pacific Way) in the Pacific island countries, and the most important thing is to pursue the decision-making model of island countries’ independence and consensus. There are still doubts about multilateral diplomacy, and this move will also cause division within the island. For some island countries, the introduction of Chinese (CCP) forces to resist the influence of New Zealand and Australia (New Zealand and Australia), however, when the influence of New Zealand and Australia decreases At that time, the island countries were also unwilling to let the Pacific region be dominated by China (the CCP), so the actual situation that China (the CCP) promoted the Pacific diplomacy was not going well.”
Lin Tinghui said that most of the CCP’s previous assistance and cooperation agreements were not transparent, and the full text of the China-Solo It was disclosed to a third party, and government spokespersons were not allowed to explain to the media. Obviously, the scope and definition of security are defined by the CCP. He believes that this approach undermines the unity and stability of the Pacific region, and naturally makes other Pacific island countries untrustworthy.
Richard Hull, academic director of the University of Tasmania School of Law in Australia, believes that although the CCP’s influence has now penetrated into many sensitive levels, such as the two-way exchange program between Fiji and the Chinese police, the CCP has ignored local regulations. It also makes the island countries worry.
He said: “When I was still teaching at the University of Fiji in 2017, the Chinese police arrested 77 fraudsters in Fiji who were accused of being Chinese and deported them without confirmation through official Fiji channels. , sent to China. The identities of these people have not been confirmed at all. Perhaps there are Singaporeans, Taiwanese, or Malaysian Chinese, so they should not be sent back to China. Such a lack of basic concepts of the rule of law, and disrespect for the behavior of the island country, let the Island nations are disgusted.”
Richard Hull said that the rude words and deeds of Chinese officials to the media during this visit surprised the island country, believing that it violated democratic principles, and made the island country suspicious of cooperation with the CCP.
The British “Guardian” pointed out that when Wang Yi arrived at the Pacific Islands Forum (Pacific Islands Forum) building on May 29 to meet with the forum’s secretary general Henry Puna (Henry Puna), the media that had obtained permission were prohibited from filming. During the period, CCP officials stood in front of the camera and tried to stop it. At the joint press conference between Wang Yi and the Prime Minister of Fiji the next day, although the media’s interview credentials had been issued by the Chinese side, CCP officials banned questions on the spot and even loudly ordered reporters to shut up. .
Careful consideration of the debt crisis
“All parties agree to continue active and pragmatic discussions and strive to reach more consensus,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on May 30 in response to a question about the failure to sign the agreement.
Professor Lin Tinghui, a member of the Taiwan Oceanographic Commission, said that Western countries have paid attention to the security aspect and returned to the South Pacific. For example, US Secretary of State Blinken, White House National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Campbell, and Australian Foreign Minister Huang Yingxian have recently visited Fiji and will let the CCP plan for cooperation. Some are cautious and focus on infrastructure construction for the time being, but debt is the next big problem.
He said: “China (the CCP) will bring the economic development and infrastructure construction of the Belt and Road into the island countries, so that the island’s national debt will be high and become the second Maldives or Sri Lanka. Because of the political figures of the island countries, it is not suitable to build volcanoes on the Pacific island countries. Buildings with geographical characteristics of islands or coral reef islands, as well as landmark construction projects, on the one hand, the debt remains on the people of the country, and on the other hand, it does not meet the needs of the islanders, and finally it will become an unfinished building. For example, China has completed construction in Fiji28 The multi-storey building is the tallest building in the South Pacific, but the local people cannot enjoy it at all. According to Wang Yi, in the future, there will be indicative cooperation projects in the Solomon Islands.”
Lin Tinghui believes that the CCP is still adopting a great way to develop its infrastructure, and South Pacific countries need to be vigilant about future debts.
(Translated from the Voice of America, slightly modified)
Responsible editor: Zhang Ting#