China wants 10 small Pacific nations to approve a comprehensive agreement covering everything from security to fishing, in which a leader warns that it is a “game-changing” offer from Beijing to gain control of Beijing. region.
A draft of the agreement reached by The Associated Press shows that China wants to train Pacific police officers, unite in “traditional and non-traditional security” and expand cooperation with law enforcement.
China also wants to jointly develop a marine fisheries plan, which would include the lucrative catch of tuna in the Pacific, increase cooperation in the implementation of the region’s Internet networks, and establish Confucius cultural institutes and classrooms.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a delegation of 20 people begin a visit to the region this week. (Photo AP / Mar (AP)
China also mentions the possibility of establishing a free trade zone with the Pacific nations.
China’s decision comes when Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a delegation of 20 people begin a visit to the region this week.
Wang visits seven countries that he hopes will endorse the “vision of common development”: the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
Wang also holds virtual meetings with the other three potential signatories: the Cook Islands, Niue, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
He hopes that the countries will approve the pre-written agreement as part of a joint communiqué following a meeting scheduled for May 30 in Fiji, which he is holding with the foreign ministers of each of the 10 countries.
But Micronesia President David Panuelo has written an eight-page letter to leaders of other Pacific nations saying his nation will not approve the plan and warning of dire consequences if others do.
Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama (left) talks with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2017. (Photo Nicolas Asfouri / AFP / Pool) (AP)
Panuelo said in his letter, obtained by the AP, that behind attractive words in the agreement such as “equity” and “justice” are many worrying details.
Among other concerns, he said, the agreement opens the door to China to own and control the region’s fisheries and communications infrastructure. He said China could intercept emails and listen to phone calls.
Panuelo said in his letter that the agreement is “an intention to change those of us who have diplomatic relations with China very close to the orbit of Beijing, intrinsically linking the whole of our economies and societies.” .
He warns that the deal would unnecessarily increase geopolitical tensions and threaten regional stability.
In his letter, Panuelo said the Common Development Vision was “the only proposed agreement that has changed the game in the Pacific the most in any of our lives” and that it “threatens to usher in a new era of the Cold War.” the best of cases and a world war at its worst. ” . “
FILE – Spectators hold a Chinese flag as they watch a ceremony to mark the opening of Independence Drive Boulevard in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in 2018. (AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein) (AP)
Panuelo declined to comment on the letter or proposed agreement.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that he did not know Panuelo’s letter.
“But I do not agree at all with the argument that cooperation between China and the South Pacific island countries will trigger a new Cold War,” he said.
He said China “has a long history of friendly relations with the South Pacific island countries” and has long provided them with economic and technical assistance without any political conditioning.
Like some other Pacific countries, Micronesia is increasingly caught up in the opposing interests of Washington and Beijing.
Micronesia has close ties with the United States through a free trade agreement. But he also has what Panuelo describes in his letter as a “great friendship” with China that he hopes will continue despite his opposition to the deal.
This pact has raised fears that China may send troops to the island nation or even establish a military base there, not far from Australia. The Solomon Islands and China say there are no plans for a base.
The May 30 meeting will be the second between Wang and Pacific foreign ministers after holding a virtual meeting last October.
FILE – Kiribati President Taneti Maamau, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk together during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, January 6, 2020. China wants 10 small nations Pacific approves a comprehensive agreement covering everything from security to fishing, in which one leader warns it is a Beijing-changing offer to change control of the region. (Photo AP / Mark Schiefelbein, file) (AP)
Those following China’s role in the Pacific will examine the wording of the draft agreement.
Among its provisions: “China will conduct medium and high level police training for the Pacific island countries.”
The agreement says countries will strengthen “cooperation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security” and “expand cooperation in law enforcement, jointly fight transnational crime and establish a mechanism for dialogue on ‘law enforcement and police cooperation’.
The agreement would also allow nations to “expand exchanges between governments, legislatures and political parties.”
The draft agreement also stipulates that Pacific countries “compete fiercely” with the principle of a single China, according to which Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy, is considered by Beijing to be part of China.
It would also uphold the “non-interference” principle that China often cites as a deterrent to other nations talking about its human rights record.
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The agreement states that China and the Pacific will jointly formulate a marine space plan “to optimize the layout of the marine economy and to develop and use marine resources rationally, to promote the sustainable development of the blue economy.” .
China also promises more investment in the region by mobilizing private capital and encouraging “more competitive and reputable Chinese companies to participate in direct investment in Pacific island countries.”
China also pledged to send Chinese-language consultants, teachers and volunteers to the islands.
The PA has also obtained a draft of a five-year action plan that it intends to build on alongside the vision of common development, which outlines a number of immediate incentives that China offers to the nations of the United States. Pacific.
In the action plan, China says it will fully implement 2,500 government grants by 2025.
“In 2022, China will conduct the first training program for young diplomats in the Pacific island countries, depending on the pandemic situation,” the draft plan said, adding that China will also hold governance seminars. and planning for Pacific nations.
In the draft action plan, China says it will build criminal investigation laboratories as needed by Pacific nations that can be used for fingerprint testing, forensic autopsies and electronic forensics.
China says it will also spend an additional $ 2 million ($ 2.8 million) and send 200 doctors to the islands to help fight COVID-19 and promote health, and pledges to help countries in their efforts. to combat climate change.