Fiji, Suva — Take a walk through the city where the Chinese Foreign Minister met with leaders of the Pacific island nations on Monday. The traces of China are unmistakable.
On one side of Fiji’s capital, Suva, is a bridge that was rebuilt with a Chinese loan and announced as the Prime Minister of the country. Standing beside Ambassador of China. Meanwhile, under Queen Elizabeth Drive, there is a huge new embassy in Beijing. At this embassy, the front road is fixed by neon vest workers named after the Chinese state-owned enterprise.
Closer to all is the Wanguo Friendship Plaza, a skeletal apartment tower built by Chinese companies and intended to be the tallest building in the South Pacific until the Fijian government discontinues construction. Safety concerns.
Eight years after Xi Jinping visited Fiji and offered a ride on the “Chinese Express Train” to the Pacific island nations, Beijing was fully established and its power was not always accepted. Can’t be suppressed. And that left the United States catching up in important strategic areas.
Throughout the Pacific, Beijing’s plans are becoming more ambitious, more visible, and more fragmented. China is no longer just looking for opportunities for island chains that played an important role in Japan’s pre-WWII strategic plan. China’s Foreign Ministers agree to connect vast regions and expand access to land, sea and digital infrastructure, promising development, scholarships and training during an eight-country tour of the Pacific Islands It is said that.
China’s interest in the Pacific Islands, further clarified by a series of recently leaked documents, begins with maritime real estate. Countries in the region, from Papua New Guinea to Palau Have jurisdiction On the territory of the sea 3 times larger As the continental United States, it extends from just south of Hawaii to the exclusive economic zone, competing with Australia, Japan and the Philippines.
Chinese fishing fleets already dominate the rough seas of the region 30,000 islandsGrab a huge haul of tuna, occasionally sharing information about the movements of the US Navy. If China could add ports, airports, and outposts for satellite communications (all of which are closer to reality in some of the Pacific island nations), it could help intercept communications, block routes, and engage in space combat. there is.
China is already showing how to achieve “elite capture” in a country with a small population, major development needs, and leaders who often silence local news media. And while China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not swiftly secure the drastic proposal he had made to areas that had long emphasized sovereignty and consensus, he has already won many small victories.
Most importantly, in the Solomon Islands, Mr. Wang sent security forces to China to calm anxiety, protect China’s investment, and build ports for commercial and military use. Signed several new agreements, including a security agreement that empowers China.
Chinese officials have denied that it is a plan. But this deal, along with Solomon and others in Kiribati, whose details have not been revealed, is something else visible and debated in the Pacific: America’s urgency, innovation, and a long-standing lack of resources. Now possible for.
To many observers, the South Pacific today reveals what America’s decline looks like. Even though Washington officials try to enhance their game, they are still far behind, misunderstanding speech as influence and having an interest in influence.
“There is a lot of talk,” said Sandra Tarte, head of government and international affairs at the University of South Pacific in Suva. “And it’s not that real.”
Absent American
Yank, as is often said, was previously more productive. Many of the airports and hospitals still in use throughout the Pacific were built by the United States and its allies during World War II.
Some of those old installations have a memorial shield in the hidden corner, but the infrastructure remains largely collapsed. Svanausori Airport was built in 1942 by the US Navy Seabee. Eighty years later, it looks like it hasn’t changed much.
Richard Har, a professor of American law in Australia who has been a democracy consultant for Pacific countries since the 1970s, may wonder why there is a major airport in the Solomon Islands known as Henderson Airfield in World War II. He said it was common. Major battles with the Japanese — I have never been rehabilitated with American technical expertise.
Any American passing through Honiara can ask that question. This is one of many places in the region where the United States lacks action beyond the signs of Coca-Cola.
Anna Paules, Senior Lecturer of Security Studies at Massey University in New Zealand, said: “In Washington, I’m always shocked by what they think they have an important presence when they don’t.”
US officials point out that the United States has a large military base in Guam, along with close ties to countries like the Marshall Islands. And in February, Antony J. Brinken became Secretary of State, visiting Fiji for the first time in 36 years, announcing that the United States would reopen its embassy in the Solomon Islands to further address issues such as illegal fishing and climate change. ..
Aya’s Sayed Kaiyum, acting Prime Minister of Fiji at the time, called it the return of the United States and “a very strong philosophical commitment.” The question is whether that is enough.
“China is the only country with both the intent to rebuild the international order and the economic, diplomatic, military and technological capabilities to do so,” Blinken said last week. rice field. He promised that the United States would “form a strategic environment around Beijing to advance our vision for an open and comprehensive international system.”
But that vision in this part of the world took time to come true.The Biden administration took more than a year to liberate the Indo-Pacific strategyThis is mostly meaningful for a group of men’s clubs in dark suits with light details, lots of flashy phrases (“maximum advantage”) and lapel buttons.
Even Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree that they have to do something to counter China 15 months Over a bill to make the United States more competitive — and yet it would be of little use in a disputed place like the Pacific Ocean.
Solomon’s Startup Embassy Also, it is not very impressive in a close examination. Outposts begin with rental office space on behalf of the embassy that was closed during the post-Cold War withdrawal of the United States in the 1990s. 2 US staff and 5 local hires..
China’s latest information: important things to know
Compared to China’s presence in the region, it is far from a comparable surge. For example, in Fiji, the Chinese embassy is in the center, has better English than its predecessor, and has staff who frequently appear in the local news media.
In contrast, the US Embassy is on a hillside far from downtown Suva. Highly fortified compound.. Covers 5 countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu) and has no full-time ambassador — President Biden Nominated someone only last week — And known for lack of staff.
Joseph Veramu, a former UN consultant who runs Integrity Fiji, who focuses on values such as transparency, said in an interview in Suba that he has invited US embassy staff to the event five to six times in recent years. Someone came only once — without saying anything, refused to allow the photo.
“I think they must be very busy,” he said.
China alternative
Many Pacific island nations do not welcome the next era of great power competition. As Solomon’s opposition leader Matthew Wale said in his recent interview, “We don’t want to be a grass trampled by elephants.”
But what they want, and what China seems to be offering now, is consistent involvement and capacity building.
The United States is flaunting the Coast Guard vessels it uses to crack down on illegal fishing, but China plans to build a maritime transport hub and high-tech law enforcement center where Chinese officers can provide expertise and equipment. is doing.
The United States and its allies Australia and New Zealand provide humanitarian aid, but after the tsunami in Tonga, for example, China has “cooperation in meteorological observations” as well as what for vocational training, diplomatic training and disaster response training. We offer thousands of scholarships. “
“China has always insisted that all big and small countries are equal,” said Chinese leader Xi. Said in writing To the Foreign Minister of the Pacific on Monday. “No matter how the international situation changes, China is always a good friend.”
The Pacific island nations now find themselves deciding how much to trust and resist that friendship. Mr. Wang has not yet received support for the most sensitive proposals, such as collaborations on customs systems and other government digital operations. In places like Sva, where Pentecostal churches praise music in thunderstorms, Chinese communism may always be watched carefully.
However, the rally in Suva on Monday was Mr. Wang’s Second meeting Over the last eight months, with the leaders of the Pacific island nations, and more are planned. Obviously, China will continue to emphasize that friendship means making things and offering promises of prosperity. News censorshipExchange resource access and security opportunities.
The pressing question in this part of the world is what friendship means to America.
Chris Buckley Contributed to the report from Sydney, Australia.
