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 25 (Reuters) – China will seek a nationwide deal with nearly a dozen Pacific islands covering police, security and data communications cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, according to documents seen by Reuters.
A draft communiqué and 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 crackdown on at least one of the invited nations, which says that shows China’s intention to control the region and “threat.” regional stability “.
In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders seen by Reuters, the President of the Federated States of Micronesia, David Panuelo, said that his nation would argue that the “default joint statement” should be rejected, because he fears it could trigger a new one. ” Cold War “between China and China. the west.
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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 disrupt regional security agreements and give China a point of military support 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. Read more
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the document, first reported here.
The WFTU government, which has a defense agreement with the United States as well as an economic cooperation agreement with China, declined to comment on the letter to Reuters.
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 document read by Reuters.
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 is unable to access 5G networks managed by several US allies, has repeatedly been thwarted in attempts to build submarine cables or operate mobile networks in the Pacific islands. part of Australia and the United States offering rival bids for sensitive infrastructure. 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 that maintain diplomatic relations with China “very close to the orbit of Beijing, intrinsically linking the whole of our economies and societies.”
Panuelo highlighted the risk of the Pacific Islands being caught up in a geopolitical conflict as tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan increase. Read more
“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 pledged to increase climate finance in the Pacific Islands this week, saying climate change was the main economic and security challenge for low-income island countries. Read more
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Report by Kirsty Needham; Lincoln Feast Edition.
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