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The strategic importance of the Pacific Islands, located in the heart of the Indo-Pacific, for the regional security architecture is undeniable, and so is both Chinese and American desire to span their influence over the Pacific nations. Simultaneously, the region is particularly susceptible to global issues such as climate change, thus the need for international community to provide comprehensive aid for these countries and bolster their resilience.
In the light of the aforementioned state of affairs, the world should focus on The Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) – a new initiative announced on 24th July by the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, aiming at accentuating Pacific regionalism and increasing economic collaboration between the region and the rest of the world.
This informal group’s activity will be divided into three general objectives. Firstly, the governments of these five states will seek to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of the Pacific Islands operations by assisting them in their efforts and cooperating on designing future projects. Secondly, the PBP aspires to promote Pacific regionalism by emphasizing the role of the Pacific Islands Forum, which should act as the centre of regional cooperation. Finally, one of the goals of the initiative is to reinforce interconnectedness and partnership between the Pacific Islands and other regions in the diplomatic, social and economic dimensions.
Ultimately all these actions should elevate the security, resilience and general prosperity of the Pacific Islands, but we should ask the question whether, in reality, the PBP is not just an anti-Chinese alliance clothed in the garment of plans for helping small Pacific nations with the aim to counteract China’s rising influence among the region’s states at its core. Such an assumption could seem accurate given the events of the last few months.
In April China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, which includes, inter alia, the possibility of presence of Chinese police and army forces on the Islands’ territory and the opening of local harbours to Chinese navy vessels. As a consequence, China’s power projection capability and position in the region rose, posing a potential threat to American territory of Guam, Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, China’s growing interest in the region has been also reflected by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s tour among Pacific Islands. Recently he has visited several countries in the region as part of the Chinese campaign to encourage Pacific Islands to sign a document called the “Common Development Vision”. The deal, covering aspects from fisheries to security, would establish a major cooperation mechanism between the world’s rising superpower and small Pacific states such as the Solomon Islands, Kiribati or Tonga.
Such course of events is a cause for concern for countries like the USA or Australia whose interests in the region are clearly endangered by Chinese dynamic expansion in the Indo-Pacific. Hence the United States, still a global hegemon, and its regional allies have to urgently undertake action to balance China’s rise of influence and preserve the, from their perspective, advantageous regional status quo. Strengthening the cooperation between the countries of the PBP and Pacific states would therefore bind these states closer to the American camp, and dismiss the threat of them being economically dependent on China.
In summary, taking into consideration the abovementioned state of affairs the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative constitutes an important element for the Pacific region. Undoubtedly fostering the development, social and environmental resilience of Pacific Islands is key for a better tomorrow of the region and the whole world, and successful actions of the PBP would be of great value for the region’s states. However, we should still bear in mind that the launch of the group carries an essential security and political component with it, and that the small Pacific nations will play a paramount role in the regional quest for power for a long time to come.
Author: Jakub Witczak
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