[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] As China begins its tour of strategically valuable South Pacific island nations, it is pushing to sign a comprehensive agreement that includes deploying its public security personnel to the visiting countries. This move is interpreted as an effort to secure footholds in the Pacific to counter the U.S.'s strategy of encircling China.
According to AFP and Australia's ABC News, Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, who is touring South Pacific island nations starting with the Solomon Islands, plans to hold the 2nd China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Fiji on the 30th. The meeting will discuss a 'Comprehensive Development Vision' that includes expanding security and economic cooperation between the two sides.
Prior to Wang's tour, China reportedly sent a draft of the Comprehensive Development Vision and a five-year plan document to the 10 South Pacific countries with which it has diplomatic relations. The draft includes provisions for China to establish security cooperation with the Pacific island nations and to train their police forces, with plans for Chinese public security personnel to be stationed permanently in those countries.
Additionally, the plan covers strengthening cooperation on cybersecurity and networks, expanding political relations, increasing access to natural resources, and charting maritime maps. It is also expected to propose China's financial support, free trade agreements (FTA), and access to the Chinese market.
AFP anticipates that the agreement containing these provisions will be approved at the upcoming foreign ministers' meeting. Earlier, in April, China signed a security cooperation agreement with the Solomon Islands that provides grounds for stationing Chinese troops there.
China is enhancing its influence by signing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation agreements with South Pacific island countries and funding large infrastructure projects.
AFP forecasted, "If China's plan is approved, it will bring significant changes enabling everything from the deployment of Chinese police to visits by Chinese art troupes."
Australia, which has played a dominant role among South Pacific nations, is wary of China's expanding influence and has begun efforts to counter it. In particular, the U.S. and Australia are extremely reluctant to allow military bases that could serve as Chinese footholds to be established in places like the Solomon Islands.
The Australian government has dispatched newly appointed Foreign Minister Penny Wong to Fiji to engage in diplomatic efforts and has expressed intentions to shift its previously neglected policy stance.
Australia participates in all of the U.S.-led China containment frameworks: the Quad (security dialogue among the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India), AUKUS (security alliance among the U.S., UK, and Australia), and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
David Panuelo, President of Micronesia, which has a security agreement with the U.S., recently warned other Pacific island leaders in a letter that China's seemingly attractive proposals would subordinate the South Pacific island nations to China and, at worst, lead to a world war or, at best, a new Cold War era.
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