China will pursue a Pacific-wide deal with nearly a dozen island nations covering police, security and data communications cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week , as shown in the documents.
A draft communiqué and a five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers on May 30 have led to the repression of at least one of the invited nations, he said. which showed China’s intention to control the region and “threaten.” regional stability ”.
In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders seen by Reuters, the President of the Federated States of Micronesia (WFTU), David Panuelo, said that his nation would argue that the “default joint statement” should be rejected because he feared it could lead to a new “cold”. war ”between China and the West.
Wang will visit eight Pacific island countries with which China has diplomatic relations between May 26 and June 4.
It arrives in the Solomon Islands on Thursday, which recently signed a security pact with China despite objections from Australia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand, who fear it could upset regional security agreements and give China a military support point in the Pacific.
Beijing rejects it, saying the pact focuses on domestic policing and that criticism from Western countries interferes with Solomon Island’s sovereign decision-making.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the document.
The FSM government, which has a defense agreement with the US as well as an economic cooperation agreement with China, declined to comment on the letter.
Australia’s new Foreign Minister Penny Wong, speaking on Wednesday ahead of the news of the Pacific-wide proposal, said: “Look, after a lost decade we have a lot of work to do to regain the position. of Australia as a preferred partner in Australia, the Pacific, in a region that is less secure and more disputed, but that work is beginning now. “
New vision
A region-wide agreement covering security and trade between China and the Pacific Islands would represent a shift in Beijing’s approach to bilateral relations with the Pacific on a multilateral basis, and is likely to raise Washington’s concerns. and its allies.
Prior to the meeting in Fiji, Beijing circulated the draft Vision for the Common Development of the Island Countries of China and the Pacific, as well as a five-year action plan.
He says China and the Pacific Islands “will strengthen trade and cooperation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security.”
“China will provide mid- and high-level police training for Pacific Island countries through bilateral and multilateral means,” the Reuters document said.
The action plan outlines a ministerial dialogue on law enforcement and police cooperation to be held in 2022, and China provides forensic policing laboratories.
The draft statement also promises to cooperate on data networks, cybersecurity, smart customs systems and that the Pacific islands “take a balanced approach to technological progress, economic development and the protection of national security.”
Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, which has banned 5G networks operated by several US allies, has been repeatedly thwarted by attempts to build submarine cables or operate mobile networks in the Pacific islands by ‘Australia and the United States offering rival bids for sensitive infrastructure, citing national data. security concerns.
The communiqué also proposes a China-Pacific Free Trade Zone and support for action on climate change and health.
In a letter to other leaders, Panuelo said the statement would move the Pacific Islands, which maintain diplomatic relations with China, “very close to Beijing’s orbit, intrinsically linking our entire economies and societies.” .
Panuelo highlighted the risk of the Pacific islands being caught up in a geopolitical conflict as US-China tensions over Taiwan increase.
“The practical impact, however, of Chinese control over our communications infrastructure, our ocean territory and resources, and our security space, apart from the impacts on our sovereignty, is that it increases the chances that China is in conflict with Australia, Japan, the United States and New Zealand, “he said.
China’s supply of customs systems would lead to “the collection of biological data and the mass surveillance of people living, entering and leaving our islands,” he added.
The letter also criticized Australia’s inaction on climate change, which Panuelo said was the biggest threat to the region’s security.
New Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to increase climate finance in the Pacific Islands this week, saying climate change is the main economic and security challenge for low-income island countries.