Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi poses for a photo before meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, Italy, on 31 October 2021. Tiziana Fabi / Pool via REUTERS
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SYDNEY, May 26 (Reuters) – China and Australia on Thursday launched a competitive visit to the Pacific, with China’s foreign minister expressing hope that ties with the Solomon Islands could be a regional model, while his counterpart said Canberra will be a partner that doesn’t arrive. with strings tied.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) secretariat in Fiji that Canberra would listen to the Pacific islands that had “led the global debate” on climate change.
He spoke as China’s foreign minister arrived in the region in search of a broad 10-nation security and trade agreement that has further troubled the United States and its Pacific allies. Read more
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In timely statements, Wong said the 50-year-old regional forum, of which Australia was a member, was the “heart of Pacific regionalism.”
He said Australia had not previously respected the struggles of the Pacific nations with climate change and rising sea levels, and that the new Labor government would do more, including financing climate infrastructure and providing roads. of migration and employment in Australia for Pacific citizens.
“The threefold challenges of climate, VOCID and strategic competition will challenge us in new ways. We understand that the safety of any member of the Pacific family lies in the safety of all,” he said.
PIF Secretary General Henry Puna welcomed the new Australian government’s commitments, especially on climate change, saying it had “found the foundations” of Canberra’s foreign policy direction for the Pacific.
“Australia will be a partner that will not come with conditions, or impose unsustainable financial burdens,” added Wong, a vague reference to China, which has been criticized for its aggressive lending to poorer countries.
SOLOMON’S “MODEL” OFFER FROM CHINA
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Solomon Islands Acting Governor-General Patteson Oti in Honiara at the start of a tour of eight countries. Wang will host a meeting of Pacific foreign ministers in Fiji next week to seek agreement on a five-year Pacific Islands action plan.
“We hope that the relationship between China and the Solomon Islands will later become a starting point for mutually beneficial cooperation and a model of mutual trust between China and the island countries,” Wang said, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs of China.
A draft statement issued by China in the Pacific Islands ahead of the meeting of foreign ministers in Fiji has provoked opposition from at least one of the invited nations, which says it shows China’s intention to control the region and “threatens regional stability.” Read more
The Solomon Islands government said in a statement that Wang would sign a series of cooperation agreements between the two countries in a two-day visit. The Chinese delegation of 44 includes deputy foreign ministers, trade, environment and intelligence officials.
The Solomon Islands has recently signed a security pact with China despite objections from Australia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand, who fear it could give China a military foothold in the region. Read more
China rejects it, saying the pact focuses on domestic policing and that criticism from Western countries was interference in Solomon Island’s sovereign decision-making.
“China, as always, will strongly support the Solomon Islands in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and safeguarding internal unity,” Wang said during a meeting with his Solomon Islands counterpart.
The Chinese delegation will travel to Kiribati on Friday, where Wang will stay only four hours to meet and sign agreements.
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said he would meet with Wong on Friday and Wang on Monday.
“I have been asked about Fiji’s agenda. At all tables, what matters most is our people and our planet, as well as respect for international law,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
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Report by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Additional report by Yew Lun Tian and Martin Quin Pollard in Beijing and Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Tony Munroe and Kim Coghill
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