Security challenges in the Pacific can and should be handled by regional states, according to Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, who also noted that China’s size made it an appealing economic partner.
China’s expanding influence in the Pacific, as well as the possibility of militarization in its small island states, has alarmed Australia and New Zealand, as well as its ally, the United States.
‘Everyone is interested in China because they’re a vast market with a lot of purchasing power,’ Mata’afa told Reuters during an official visit to New Zealand.
This year’s security accord between China and the Solomon Islands underscored China’s growing regional influence.
It has also recently pushed for a regional policing, security, and data communications agreement with almost a dozen Pacific nations.
Despite meeting with a top Chinese official last month, Pacific leaders have failed to agree to the idea.
“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 agreements.
Leaders convening in July for the Pacific Islands Forum will debate if more needs to be done in terms of security so that countries do not feel compelled to seek assistance from outside the area, she added.
‘When the leaders come together to say to the Solomon Islands, ‘Were we not enough?’ I think it’s a fair question. Were the provisions in place already insufficient?” she stated
‘It’s not just for the Solomon Islands; it could happen everywhere in the Pacific.’
The Forum brings together 18 island nations from Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, from the Pacific’s three cultural and geographic divisions. While some countries have diplomatic links with Taiwan, the majority of countries recognise Beijing.
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