Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi posed for a photo before meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, Italy, October 31, 2021. Tiziana Fabi / Pool via REUTERS
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SYDNEY, May 25 (Reuters) – China will seek a region-wide agreement with nearly a dozen Pacific islands covering police, security and data co-operation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week. documents reviewed by Reuters.
A draft communiqué and five-year action plan sent from Beijing to the 10 Pacific Islands ahead of the May 30 summit provoked opposition from at least one of the invited nations, which said it showed China’s intention to control the region and “threatens regional stability “.
In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders seen by Reuters, the President of the Federated States of Micronesia, David Panuelo, said his nation would argue that the “pre-determined joint communiqué” should be rejected because it feared it could provoke a new Cold War. war “between China and the West.
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Wang will visit eight Pacific island nations with which China has diplomatic relations between May 26 and June 4.
He 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 violate regional security agreements and give China a military base. Pacific Ocean.
Beijing has denied this, saying the pact is focused on the domestic police, and criticism from Western countries is interfering in Solomon Island’s sovereign decision-making. Read more
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the document, first announced here.
The FSM government, which has a defense agreement with the United States and an economic co-operation agreement with China, declined to comment on the letter to Reuters.
NEW VISION
A region-wide security and trade agreement between China and the Pacific Islands would shift Beijing’s focus from bilateral relations to multilateral work with the Pacific and is likely to heighten concerns from Washington and its allies.
The draft document on the common vision for the development of the Sino-Pacific island states, as well as a five-year action plan, were distributed by Beijing before the meeting in Fiji.
It said China and the Pacific Islands would “strengthen exchanges and co-operation in traditional and non-traditional security”.
“China will conduct mid- and high-level police training for Pacific island countries through bilateral and multilateral means,” the document said, as seen by Reuters.
The action plan outlines a ministerial dialogue on law enforcement capacity and police co-operation in 2022, and China will provide laboratories for forensic police.
The draft communiqué also promises cooperation on data networks, cybersecurity, smart customs systems and the Pacific Islands to “adopt a balanced approach to technological progress, economic development and the protection of national security”.
The Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, which has been denied access to 5G networks operated by several US allies, has repeatedly thwarted attempts to build submarine cables or launch mobile networks in the Pacific islands of Australia and the United States, offering competitive bids. sensitive infrastructure, addressing national security concerns.
The communiqué also offers a free trade area between China and the Pacific Islands and support for action on climate change and health.
In a letter to other leaders, Panuelo said the communiqué would transfer the Pacific islands, which maintain diplomatic relations with China, “very close to Beijing’s orbit, inextricably linking all our economies and societies with them.”
Panuello stressed the risk of the Pacific islands being caught in a geopolitical conflict as tensions between the United States and China escalate over Taiwan. Read more
“The practical implications of China’s control over our communications infrastructure, our ocean territory and resources, and our security space, in addition to affecting our sovereignty, are that it increases China’s chances of coming into conflict with Australia, Japan, the United States and New Zealand. Zealand, “he said.
The provision of customs systems from China will lead to “biodata collection and mass surveillance of those who reside, enter and leave our islands,” he added.
The letter also hides Australia’s lack of action on climate change, which Panuelo says is the biggest threat to the region’s security.
New Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to increase funding for the Pacific Islands’ climate this week, saying climate change is a major economic and security challenge for low-income island nations. Read more
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Report by Kirsty Needham; Edited by Lincoln Feast.
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