Pacific Group: The United States Quest to Win over The Indo-Pacific

The United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom formed an informal alliance to strengthen economic and security connections with the Pacific Island countries in order to recognize the significance of the Indo-Pacific region. Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP), a group made up of the five countries, was created to boost the efficiency of their continuing initiatives to promote "prosperity, resilience, and security" in the region, according to a joint statement. They also noted that the alliance is formed to “support Pacific priorities more effectively and efficiently”.

Helping Pacific Island countries is a new project that aims to enhance their footprint in a marine region that China is aggressively eyeing up. Increasing diplomatic and financial ties with Pacific Island countries was the goal of the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) initiative. The Biden administration has pledged to allocate additional resources to the Indo-Pacific region as China looks to strengthen its ties with Pacific Island countries that are eager for foreign investment. "This new endeavour builds on our long-standing commitment to the area," the nations stated in a joint statement. As Pacific Islands Forum members from the region, Australia and New Zealand are also founding Dialogue Partners together with Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our countries maintain close people-to-people ties to and are longstanding development partners with the Pacific Islands, reflected in our combined $2.1 billion in development assistance for the region.”

It is important to remember that following the agreement between China and the Solomon Islands, the US stepped up its diplomatic efforts in the Pacific. Washington was so displeased with the Solomon Islands-China security agreement draft leak that it sent a high-level delegation there in late April. The US promised to "intensify participation in the region" at the time. The US and its allies were concerned about the China-Solomon Islands treaty because it would result in a greater Chinese military presence on the islands. The United States has advocated for a free and open Indo-Pacific region through the G7 and QUAD in an effort to keep China's authoritarian dictatorship out of those waters, despite Beijing's intentions in Solomon remains unclear.

In accordance with the Pacific Islands Forum's planned 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, the group aims to strengthen its current initiatives to help Pacific priorities. In the statement, prospective areas of cooperation with Pacific Island nations like Fiji, Micronesia, and Tonga were listed. These included climate change, transportation, maritime security, health, and education. The Chinese deal with Solomon Islands, which permits the stationing of Chinese police, military, and other armed personnel as well as the docking of military ships in the islands, alarmed US allies. According to Australian media, China also attempted to get Pacific Island nations to sign a document addressing a wide range of concerns, such as trade, security and police cooperation, and fisheries, but failed.

According to the five countries, the new initiative will seek to "achieve results" for the island nations and strengthen ties with the Pacific Islands Forum, the main force behind regional activity. According to the statement, the US plans to convene relevant foreign ministers later this year to assess progress. In the larger Indo-Pacific region, China has been building up its military presence in disputed South China Sea territory and repeatedly invading Japanese territorial seas near the Diaoyus, a collection of East China Sea islets that Beijing claims but Tokyo controls.

The US Department of Defense referred to the Indo-Pacific as the "single most crucial region for America's future" in its 2019 Strategy Report. With its hub-and-spoke system, in which America serves as the hub and its friends as the spokes, whose security is assured by US military strength, the US has traditionally preserved a balance of power in the region. However, the region seems to be falling under China's control as a result of the overwhelming change in the situation. The reality that the Indo-Pacific region is facing increasing difficulties, particularly from the PRC, is a contributing factor in the rising American interest. The PRC is combining its economic, political, military, and technological clout as it chases an Indo-Pacific sphere of influence and aspires to emerge as the most powerful nation on the planet. The Indo-Pacific is where the PRC's aggressiveness and coercion are most pronounced, although they are present everywhere. Our regional allies and partners bear a large portion of the burden of the PRC's destructive behavior, from the economic pressure placed on Australia to the conflict along the Line of Actual Control with India to the increasing pressure placed on Taiwan and bullying of neighbors in the East and South China Seas. In the process, the PRC is eroding human rights, international law, freedom of navigation, and other tenets that have contributed to the Indo-Pacific region's stability and prosperity.

Other significant difficulties confront the Indo-Pacific. As South Asia's glaciers melt and the Pacific Islands struggle with impending sea level rise, climate change is becoming increasingly catastrophic. In the area, the COVID-19 outbreak is still taking a terrible human and financial toll. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is still developing its illegitimate missile and nuclear weapons programs. The governments of the Indo-Pacific region have difficulties with governance, resource scarcity, internal strife, and natural calamities. These forces pose a threat to the area's stability if they are not restrained.

Notes

1.      US, Japan and allies form new Pacific group to blunt China’s influence. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3183051/us-japan-and-allies-form-new-pacific-group-blunt-chinas

2.     U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom form Pacific group. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-japan-australia-new-zealand-united-kingdom-form-pacific-group-2022-06-25/\

3.      China’s Search for a Permanent Military Presence in the Pacific Islands. https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/07/chinas-search-permanent-military-presence-pacific-islands \

4.     A Rising China Has Pacific Islands in Its Sights. https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/07/rising-china-has-pacific-islands-its-sights

5.     China is pursuing a Pacific-wide pact with 10 island nations on security, policing and data – report. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/25/china-is-pursuing-a-pacific-wide-pact-with-10-island-nations-on-security-policing-and-data-report

6.     Fact Sheet: Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/02/11/fact-sheet-indo-pacific-strategy-of-the-united-states/

7.     A Closer Look at Biden’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/03/closer-look-bidens-indo-pacific-strategy

Pic Courtesy-Joey Csunyo at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)