Leaders pose for a photo at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. File | Photo credit: AP
Pacific region leaders endorse a major joint policing initiative He dismissed efforts by China’s allies to sideline Taiwan after a regional summit concluded in Tonga on Friday.
Security was a focus this year at the Pacific Islands Forum, a large group of U.S. partners, friends of China and countries still allied to Taiwan.
US ally Australia has persuaded its Pacific neighbours to back a landmark plan giving it a bigger role in training the region’s police.
The plan will see the creation of four regional police training centres and a multinational crisis response force, with initial funding of $271 million from Australia.
Although countries like Fiji described it as a “godsend”, other nations close to Beijing did not buy the idea.
“The only thing we don’t agree with is that it imposes conditions on our domestic security,” Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Peter Agovaka said on Friday.
Situation in Taiwan
Critics said the agreement was less about policing and more about dividing up territory to marginalise China.
Such concerns were further fuelled after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught joking with a top US diplomat about shaving “half a per cent” off costs.
The forum’s final declaration endorsed the police plan, but also said some members might need to conduct their own “national consultation” first.
The Solomon Islands, China’s closest Pacific ally, also moved behind closed doors to effectively exclude Taiwan as a development partner — ending three decades of involvement.
Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Agovaka said the forum was for “sovereign states” and not “states that are governed by another jurisdiction”.
The final declaration shelved that idea, and instead “reaffirmed” the 1992 agreement that paved the way for Taiwan to participate.
China’s special envoy for the Pacific Islands, Qian Bo, expressed disbelief at the statement.
“That would definitely be a mistake. That would definitely be a mistake. You know, that’s definitely not a consensus,” he told reporters at the summit.
“This should not be the final release; it must contain corrections to the text.”
The South Pacific region was once considered a bastion of support for Taiwan’s statehood claim, but China has been systematically eroding it.
Over the past five years, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have been persuaded to recognise Beijing instead of Taipei.
Beijing has been pressuring its diplomatic allies to withdraw recognition of the self-governing island.
Palau, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei, but face increasing pressure to change.
Against the wishes of the Solomon Islands, the US territories Guam and American Samoa were made associate members of the forum.
Climate Cash
Addressing the forum this week, UN chief Antonio Guterres voiced his support for renewed efforts in the Pacific region to boost climate financing.
His call to action on climate change has been bolstered by a new report showing that the Pacific Ocean’s atolls and low-lying islands are at extreme risk from rising seas.
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sowaleni, the summit host, said Pacific countries had pledged to hold a “global pledging event” this year to raise cash for the climate fund.
With the establishment of new headquarters in Tonga, the fund is currently well short of its $500 million target.
Though it was not on any official agenda, there was also heated discussion on promoting deep sea mining.
A company backed by the Pacific microstate of Nauru told AFP it plans to expand seafloor mining operations by 2026.
Other Forum members, such as Palau, have called for a moratorium on the issue, as they believe outstanding questions regarding environmental damages need to be addressed.
French press
Friday’s forum expressed a commitment to hold an official “talanoa” — or dialogue — on the divisive topic this year.
Pacific leaders won a small victory on the issue of New Caledonia, where proposed electoral reforms this year sparked deadly unrest.
A delegation from the Pacific region will soon depart on a fact-finding mission to the French territory, although the date has not yet been set.
During this forum, the French government was repeatedly criticized for its handling of the ongoing crisis.
“We have seen very good news about the French delegation this week,” French Ambassador Véronique Roger-Lacan said.