Jacinda Ardern says total membership is “critical” for the Pacific Islands Forum following Kiribati’s shocking departure on the eve of the event.
Days after calling for regional co-operation ahead of China’s rise, the prime minister, who travels to the forum on Monday, said the meeting “comes at a critical time for the Pacific, with the region facing the climate, the environment , governance, and the challenges of human development, as well as sharpening geostrategic competition ”.
“The challenges facing our region are also those of New Zealand … This meeting is about us, as a Pacific region, setting our own priorities and working together to achieve them,” he said.
Last week, the prime minister again called for strengthening regional cooperation and ties in the Pacific, as it is subject to a fierce geopolitical approach by the US and China.
But the forum’s cohesion has already received a blow for the shocking announcement of its departure from Kiribati member country, citing failures to adequately address the concerns of Micronesia countries that had threatened to leave the PIF in 2021.
Taneti Maamau, the president of Kiribati, said in a leaked letter to the PIF general secretary that: “Kiribati has made the sovereign decision to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum with immediate effect. This decision was not taken in the light “.
Asked about the departure, Ardern said on Monday on Breakfast TV that leaders had long been trying to persuade Kiribati to stay.
“Ultimately, I will let the forum speak in the forum unit. For our part, of course, we would very much like this total membership to exist; it is very important right now. But that doesn’t stop us from being one [able] to work together, ”he said.
Ardern will travel to the Suva forum along with Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio.
Kiribati’s withdrawal was “devastating” for regional solidarity and unity, said Dr. Anna Powles, of the Center for Defense and Security Studies at Massey University.
“Losing Kiribati on the eve of this is deeply worrying and quite shocking,” he said.
“Questions and concerns about regional unity and regional solidarity … obviously will also come up as part of the conversation. But these are ongoing talks that have been going on for a good year,” he said.
Powles said the sending of a full delegation – the prime minister plus two senior members – “supports New Zealand’s rhetoric about being part of the Pacific over commitment to the Pacific.”
Ardern and Mahuta had been criticized by opposition parties for not making enough face-to-face visits to the Pacific, especially when China was pushing for a regional security pact.
“Given the criticism of the lack of field visits to the Pacific by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand … this will be a really important opportunity to match the rhetoric with the presence and relations and the relationship building, ”Powles said.
Mahuta was traveling to the forum on Monday and was not available for comment, but said in a statement that the forum “is at the heart of our commitment to the region.”