Several leading Pacific Island leaders will meet today for an extraordinary meeting, which they hope will resolve the leadership crisis that threatens to split the region’s top diplomatic corps.
Key points:
- Australia to move three Micronesian leaders to Suva for Fiji Prime Minister’s meeting
- The Pacific Islands Forum is on the verge of breaking up after the current Secretary General won the first post last year
- Three Micronesian leaders meet with Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to resolve leadership issue
The Australian government has played a crucial role in helping to facilitate the face-to-face meeting on the future of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), bringing three Micronesian leaders to Suva for the meeting orchestrated by Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama .
The Forum has been on the verge of breaking down since the current Secretary General, Henry Puna, won a bitter contest to take the top spot earlier last year.
The countries of Micronesia accused the other members of the PIF of abandoning a “gentlemen’s agreement” on the leadership role and began the process of withdrawing from the forum.
They suspended that withdrawal in February this year, saying PIF had promised to propose “substantive reforms” to its structure while Puna had indicated it was willing to break the deadlock by stepping aside.
Loading
However, this only sparked a new round of recriminations, with some Polynesian leaders saying they had not been consulted on the cessation of Mr. Put yourself in the main position.
The saga took another turn in March, when Marshall Islands President David Kabua called for reconciliation and urged fellow Micronesian leaders to seek a compromise.
Today, three of Micronesia’s leaders who are threatening to secede from the PIF – Palau President Samuel Whipps, Nauru President Lionel Aingimea and Micronesia President David Panuelo will meet with Mr. Bainimarama, who is currently chairing the forum.
Micronesian leaders threatened to leave the PIF after Henry Puna was appointed secretary general. (AFP: Marty Melville)
The CBA has been told that the parties hope to reach an agreement that will resolve the issue of leadership, reform the organization and allow the forum to remain intact.
Several Pacific leaders, including the prime ministers of the Cook Islands, Samoa and Papua New Guinea, will also attend the meeting.
Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown are already in Suva to open new diplomatic missions in the Fiji capital.
Australian Pacific Minister Pat Conroy confirmed that Whipps, Aingimea and Panuelo had been flown to Fiji on a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) plane.
“We strongly believe that a united Pacific is a stronger Pacific. And the Pacific Islands Forum is where the Pacific family, with all its strength and diversity, comes together to speak with one voice.” he told ABC’s Pacific Beat. .
“And in that spirit, we have been supporting Fiji as chair of the forum, in talks with Micronesian leaders and other forum members, with the goal of keeping our family together.”
Pacific leaders eager to maintain unity
The CBA has been told that the countries of Micronesia remain determined to push for a substantial reform of the organization and the process used to select the Secretary General of the PIF.
However, they also intend to maintain the unity of the Pacific, if possible, especially in view of the intensification of geopolitical competition in the Pacific.
Pat Conroy said Australia supports results that bring consensus among all PIF leaders. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
It is unclear whether leaders will continue to insist on Mr Puna’s resignation as part of an agreement.
The ABC has previously been told that Puna could be offered an alternative position in the region if he leaves the post of secretary general.
Puna said it would be “anticipatory” to suggest he would resign as a result of the talks, but added that he was “optimistic” about the outcome.
“Of course, there are a lot of considerations to consider, but I won’t anticipate what the leaders would come out with,” he said.
Conroy would not speculate on whether the secretary-general would resign, but said Australia was “open to supporting results that draw consensus among all forum members”.
“We hope that reaching an agreement will require clear communications and the willingness of all forum members to engage in a peaceful manner,” Conroy said.
Dr George Carter, a Pacific geopolitics expert and head of the Pacific Institute at the National University of Australia, said it was important for Pacific leaders to meet face-to-face to discuss the future of the forum before the meeting of PIF leaders, which is likely. to be held next month.
“It’s important that this issue be addressed … before the leaders’ meeting. The issue of membership should always be asked separately,” Dr. Carter said.
“You don’t want to have an official agenda that is missing because you’re not sure about some of these issues.”
He also said that the visit of Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong to the Pacific Islands Forum last month sent a message about Australia’s commitment to the regional body.
“It was reaffirmed in that visit … that Australia values and wants to continue in this space of regionalism,” Dr Carter said.
Loading
The leadership deal would be a success for Bainimarama
There has been an intense focus on intensifying competition for influence in the Pacific following the marathon tour of eight countries by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
China did not reach a regional agreement with 10 Pacific island countries during Wang’s visit, but Beijing reached several bilateral agreements with a number of countries in the region.
The President of the Federated States of Micronesia, David Panuelo, who has been a vocal critic of China’s influence in the Pacific and the risk it poses to regional stability, said he hoped to reach a consensus on talks on Tuesday. .
“We are all optimistic, without ruling out any possibility … we look forward to a successful conclusion of our ongoing meetings,” Panuelo told Suva on Monday.
Palace President Surangel Whipps Jr. said it was important to ensure Pacific solidarity while China seeks a regional agreement.
“When we see documents that say that certain countries should be taken or recovered [documents that refer to] security interest, takes us back to the time when we were all involved in World War II, and we don’t want to live to relive that, ”he said.
Dr. Tess Newton Cain, head of the project at the Pacific Center at the Griffith Asia Institute, said the PIF leadership dispute had been “a turnaround.”
Dr. Tess Newton Cain said it would be a success for Frank Bainimarama if the PIF problem was resolved. (Linkedin: Tess Newton Cain)
“It will be a success for the President of the PIF, Prime Minister Bainimarama, if an appropriate agreement can be reached, so that this is resolved before the meeting of leaders,” he said.
“I hope that the events of the last week or so – and especially the effects of China’s attempt to reach a multilateral agreement – will have a large presence in people’s thinking and deliberations.”
Wang, meanwhile, made a conciliatory note when asked about Australia’s unease over its trip to the Pacific, stating that China was not interested in extending its influence to the region.
“China respects all the relations that these island countries have established with others and respects their traditional ties between Australia and New Zealand,” he told Chinese state media.
The Foreign Minister also suggested that China could deepen cooperation with Australia and New Zealand across the Pacific to “harness our respective forces and form greater synergy.”
“China will continue to adopt an open attitude and conduct more trilateral or quadrilateral cooperation with Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific region, according to the wishes of the Pacific island countries,” he said.
Posted 7 hours, 7 hours ago, Monday, June 6, 2022 at 6:39 PM, updated 36 minutes ago, 36 minutes ago, Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at 1:10 AM