Information
Pacific Island leaders have agreed to the Pacific Policing Initiative during a meeting in Tonga, a plan spearheaded by Australia. The initiative aims to enhance regional security by establishing up to four training centres and a crisis reaction force of approximately 200 officers. While member states will retain the freedom to choose their level of participation, this move is seen as an effort to curb China’s growing influence in the region. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized that the plan focuses on safeguarding the security of Pacific residents by promoting collaboration among the island nations.
However, the initiative has sparked concerns among some Pacific nations with close ties to China, such as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. These countries view the plan as a strategy to limit China’s role in regional policing and security. China has already made inroads by providing policing support and training in several Pacific countries, including the Solomon Islands and Kiribati. With Australia being a close ally of the US and a member of the Quad, its leadership in regional security, including past peacekeeping missions, contrasts with Beijing’s growing presence, which is perceived as a challenge to Western influence in the Pacific.
Source: AFP, Reuters
So what
It is highly likely that China will not back down in the Pacific and will likely make some moves to counter this initiative, possibly through economic incentives. Additionally, while a good start, more needs to be done by Western states to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific, as their small communities are much more easily influenced by money. One key challenge is that Chinese aid and funding generally come with fewer restrictions than the Western equivalent, giving companies and government more ability to use it how they see fit. Though this sounds negative, it is done to ensure that Western aid is used appropriately and in a way that will benefit the people of a country. In contrast, Chinese aid can more easily be syphoned off into a personal bank account or project.
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