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After years of neglect, the Pacific suddenly find itself at the centre of a geopolitical competition between global powers. In the past 18 months, leaders and officials from Australia, China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and India have all visited the region.
Why are all of these powers so interested in the Pacific, how are they attempting to wield power and influence, and what does it mean for the people who live there?
As Pacific leaders gather in the Cook Islands this week for their biggest annual summit, we are launching a four-part series examining these questions, featuring Pacific experts in Australia, the US and Papua New Guinea.
Today, Joanne Wallis and her colleagues provide an overview of all this global power engagement in the Pacific with an interactive and visually impressive mapping project.
In five maps, they show which countries are doing the most when it comes to diplomatic visits and posts, policing assistance and scholarships.
But it’s not quantity that necessary matters, they write. And sudden, reactionary moves by Western countries to big Chinese announcements can appear self-serving and are seldom effective, they say.
Later in the week, we’ll look at how effective the “Pacific Step-up” by the US and Australia has been. (Hint: one country is moving the dial more than the other.)
Researchers from Australia and PNG will unveil new research on what locals in PNG and the Solomon Islands think about China and its increasing investments and influence in both countries. The results may surprise you.
And Ian Kemish, former Australian high commissioner to PNG, delves into the history of Australia’s relations with the Pacific. From the colonial era to today, successive Australian governments have prioritised one thing in their dealings with the Pacific: keeping perceived threats away from our shores.
He writes, “The real failing – then and now – has been to project only these concerns in the way we talk to, and about the Pacific.”
If leaders in foreign capitals are wise, they’ll be watching and listening closely to what’s happening in the Cook Islands this week.
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