Senator Wong makes her second visit to the Pacific in the first fortnight of the new government, leading a diplomatic bombardment to counter China’s growing influence in the region. He will meet with Tongan leaders on Friday.
As part of his visit to Samoa, he announced the donation of a $ 15 million Guardian-class replacement patrol boat after the only one in Samoa sank when it ran aground on a reef last year. Senator Wong also pledged $ 37 million over eight years in development aid.
Prime Minister Fiamē said the Pacific had been encouraged by the election of the Albanian government and its commitment to a higher interim emission reduction target.
“Policy change brings them closer to aligning with the Pacific defense of climate change. We believe this will strengthen Pacific’s positions on climate change,” he said.
“Appetite Appetite”
Senator Wong’s remote mission in the Pacific comes when China’s ambassador to Australia says the “political relationship” between Canberra and Beijing needs to be repaired before trade sanctions are lifted against more than $ 20 billion. Australian export dollars.
Ambassador Xiao Qian told The Australian Financial Review that the new government election was an opportunity to mend ties and was ready to speak. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that China has a responsibility to abandon its economic coercion campaign first.
In response to Mr. Xiao, the head of the global commitment committee of the Australian Business Council, Warwick Smith, said that “the period of irrationality has passed”.
“There seems to be a desire for commitment which is a step forward in terms of how we deal with the differences that exist at the political level,” he said.
The chairman of the Australian China Business Council, David Olsson, said a transition period was under way in which both sides sought to reaffirm their positions.
“The challenge is to find a way forward to work initially in areas where there is little room for agreement instead of putting them as preconditions for commitment or as an excuse for not participating,” he said.
“The focus should be on finding common ground on other issues where there is at least room for shared views or coordinated efforts.”
However, the executive director of the Institute for Strategic Policy in Australia, Justin Bassi, said Mr Xiao’s comments that the dialogue between Chinese and Australian ministers should focus on a positive compromise sounded sensible, but in reality it was a precondition.
“Australia should seek dialogue with China. [But] China should understand that in any dialogue with an Australian Prime Minister or Minister, Australia will discuss the irritants of the relationship, whether it is unilateral action in the South China Sea or arbitrary detention of Australian citizens, “Bassi said.
While Beijing is trying to reach a more conciliatory note with Canberra, its foreign ministry has attacked New Zealand after Jacinda Ardern and Joe Biden issued a joint statement exposing their opposition to a possible Chinese military base in the Solomon Islands. .
“The exaggeration of relevant issues in the joint statement of the US and New Zealand is for hidden reasons to create misinformation and attack and discredit China,” said spokesman Zhao Lijian.