The Chinese foreign minister arrived in the Solomon Islands on Thursday at the start of an eight-country tour of the South Pacific, including East Timor, a move that has raised concerns about Beijing’s ambitions.
According to the Associated Press, Wang Yi will seek to enlist the support of ten small Pacific nations for a comprehensive agreementcovering aspects from security policy to fishing rights, in what could constitute a change in the game of influences in the region.
A draft of that agreement, obtained by the AP agency, reveals that China wants to expand cooperation in the area of justice and in the field of “traditional and non-traditional” security.
China also wants to develop a joint fishing plan, which would include the lucrative catch of Pacific tuna –, increase cooperation in the administration of cyberspace in the region and create delegations of the Confucius Institute, a state agency that promotes the teaching of the Chinese language.
China also mentions the possibility of establish a free trade area with the Pacific nations.
Australia responded by sending the new foreign minister, Penny Wong, to Fiji.
“We have to respond to China’s attempt to spread your influence in a region of the world where Australia has been the security partner of choice since World War II,” said the new Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, quoted by the Australian press.
The Solomon Islands Press Association called on its members to boycott a press conference in the country’s capital Honiara featuring Wang Yi and his Solomon Islands counterpart Jeremiah Manele.
This is because only selected media have been invited and only Chinese state television CCTV will have the right to question Wang.
China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands last month that raised fears that Beijing could send troops to the island nation or even establish a military base there, some 2,000 kilometers from Australia.
The Solomon Islands and China say there are no plans for a base.
During the 10-day tour, Wang also plans to visit Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
Source: Observadora
