Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
In Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati, Chinese companies are building a convenient bridge for the local population. Xinhua News Agency (Courtesy of China Railway First Bureau)
Recently, Australia's diplomacy in the South Pacific region has been frequent. Since the news of the signing of a bilateral security cooperation framework agreement between China and the Solomon Islands, the Australian government has vigorously smeared China's cooperation with the South Pacific Island countries and has continuously pressured and entangled the Solomon Islands and other South Pacific island countries.
Just as the United States regards Latin America as its own "backyard", Australia has learned from it, treating the South Pacific region as its own "backyard", not allowing others to "get involved", drawing allies against China, and trying to turn the South Pacific into a geopolitical game field. However, Nantai is by no means the "back garden" of anyone's home, but should be a "hundred gardens" of open cooperation. It is the morality and responsibility of the international community to respect the sovereignty and development will of the South Pacific Island countries, uphold an open attitude to carry out multi-party cooperation, and truly help the development and revitalization of the South Pacific island countries.
Australia's "enclosure" in the South Pacific has a long history
In recent months, Australia has shown an unusual "concern" for the South Pacific island nations.
During the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands, some Australian politicians distorted the content of police cooperation in the speculation, clamored for the so-called "Chinese military threat", and obstructed the two sovereign countries in promoting security cooperation. In mid-April, after China formally signed a framework agreement on bilateral security cooperation, Australian politicians reacted fiercely, groundlessly accusing the smear of "lack of transparency" in security cooperation and continuing to pressure the Solomon Islands. Then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison high-profile spread rumors of "china's military bases", falsely saying that China's move would touch the common "red line" of the US and Australian governments. Wong Young-hsien, then The Australian Labour Party's shadow cabinet minister, also called the security agreement signed in China "the worst failure of Australia's foreign policy in the Pacific since World War II". The Washington Post quoted analysts as saying that Wong's words implied a political premise that the foreign policy of the Solomon Islands was Australia's responsibility. This presupposition could anger leaders in the South Pacific.
During the subsequent Australian general election, diplomatic representations on the South Pacific became a key point in the performance of Australian political parties. At the end of April, the Australian Labour Party announced a new campaign promise, saying it would increase development assistance to Pacific countries and Timor-Leste over the next four years to "restore Australia's status as a preferred partner," according to the British newspaper The Guardian. The program is called Aid, but its details include the granting of agricultural visas to Workers in the Pacific to alleviate Australia's own shortage of agricultural workers. The plan even includes a $8 million a year "advocacy fund" to "project Australia's image, values and interests into the Indo-Pacific."
On May 26, on the same day that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi embarked on his trip to the South, Huang Yingxian, who had just taken office as Australia's new foreign minister, also began visiting The South. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Mr. Wong first visited Fiji, where he publicly touted the need to maintain Australia's influence in the Pacific. On June 1, Mr. Wong visited the South Pacific island nation of Samoa and Tonga, a trip Bloomberg said was a sign of Australia's expanded diplomatic presence. On June 17, Wong visited the Solomon Islands for a meeting with Prime Minister Sogavare. Reuters said the trip was motivated by "concerns about the impact of the central security protocol region".
Unlike the recent enthusiastic "concerns", Australia's demands on the South Pacific island countries have not been "taken seriously" before. When Australia and the United Kingdom and the United States held secret negotiations on a military agreement on nuclear submarines, they did not discuss the risks of nuclear proliferation with Pacific countries in advance. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Sogavare used this to refute Australia's groundless accusations of "lack of transparency" in China cooperation and hinted at the hypocrisy of Australia's attitude toward Pacific countries.
The "back garden" mentality exposes colonial thinking
Just as the United States regards the Americas as the "Americas of the Americans" and Latin America as the strategic rear of the implementation of power politics and hegemonism, in the eyes of many Australian politicians, the South Pacific island countries with independent sovereignty are obviously also Australia's "turf". Former Australian Home Affairs Minister Andrews said bluntly in an interview with Australian media in March this year that the South Pacific Islands are "our region" and that cooperation between the Solomon Islands and China takes place in Australia's "backyard". The remarks were strongly criticized by Sogavare, who said the "backyard" was a place to put garbage, a term that was offensive and condescending to the sovereign state.
Xu Liping, a researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told this reporter that Australia's recent series of actions against the South Pacific Island countries are behind three "abacus": First, to "hedge" the influence of cooperation and exchanges between China and the South Pacific island countries; The second is to "repair" the neglect of the previous Australian government to the South Pacific region and solidify Australia's control over its surrounding areas; The third is to align with the actions of the United States and other allies, limit the South Pacific Island countries to the strategic positioning of "Australia's backyard", and prevent any external forces from intervening.
Australian defense and political issues analyst Samid Basha recently pointed out in an article that Australia has not yet shaken off the colonial mentality, and deep-rooted prejudices and Cold War mentality have prevented Australia from seeing the overall situation of the development of Pacific island countries. Its influence in the South Pacific has been done only by symbolic gestures and small investments, not by more concrete actions, failing to pay attention to the real economic, climate, infrastructure and defense needs of its island neighbours.
"Australia has been running amok in the South Pacific for years. Australia's new foreign minister, Wong Ying-yin, said that Pacific island countries should decide for their own security, while urging them to consider the "consequences" of China's security proposals. Australia condemned solomon islands for signing a security agreement with China as crossing a geostrategic red line, like a U.S. acting sheriff reprimanding subordinates for disobeying orders. Samid Basha said.
Lan Jianxue, director of the Asia-Pacific Research Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, pointed out to this reporter that Australia is trying to regard the South Pacific region as its "sphere of influence" or "self-reserved land" in the hope of commanding these island countries. In other words, Australia is plotting to present itself as a suzerainty, take over the domestic and foreign affairs of neighboring South Pacific countries, imitate the behavior of the United States in Latin America, and vigorously engage in the Australian version of the "Monroe Doctrine" and prohibit them from carrying out normal exchanges and cooperation with China.
"Australia is engaged in very typical bullying diplomacy. In recent years, Australia has taken pride in serving the United States in advancing the so-called 'Indo-Pacific strategy', using the Pacific region as a stage to curb China's pressure and gaining chestnuts for the United States. Lan Jianxue said.
Nantai should become a "hundred gardens" of cooperation
There is no market for arrogance and hegemony in the South Pacific, and friendly cooperation is the common expectation of the South Pacific island countries. Fiji Prime Minister Mbayimarama said on Twitter recently, "Fiji is no one's backyard – we are part of the Pacific family." Our primary concern is not geopolitics, but climate change. During Wang Yi's visit to the South Pacific, Vanuatu President Moses highly agreed with the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, believing that all peoples, regardless of race, nationality or class, should equally enjoy the rights to peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom. The President of Kiribati also stressed the right of island nations to choose their own partners.
"The South Pacific region needs a foreign cooperative relationship of mutual respect, openness and equality. Leaders of South Pacific countries have repeatedly and publicly stated that China is the only major country that truly treats and respects them as equals. The Pacific Ocean is broad enough to accommodate cooperation between China, Australia and other countries and Pacific island countries. Lan Jianxue said that the South Pacific region should truly realize the "freedom, openness and inclusiveness" that Australian politicians only talk about. Here, large and small states should treat each other as equals, eliminating the remnants of colonialism in all its forms and the repression of the bullies of the 'land snake'. Pacific island countries have the right to cooperate with all other countries in the world.
Xu Liping pointed out that most of the South Pacific island countries are less developed countries, and have the geographical characteristics of "small islands and large oceans", that is, the land area is very small and the marine area is very vast. The special geographical environment determines that these countries are deeply affected by climate change, often threatened by climate disasters, and their development is extremely fragile, so they are in great need of external assistance. At the same time, however, these countries have their own development needs, especially on security issues, and the South Pacific Island countries have a tradition of forging consensus through the Pacific Islands Forum. The Pacific Islands Forum provides that any member State has the right to decide, individually or jointly, to exercise its right to security if it is motivated by its own security needs.
"The South Pacific island states have autonomy in development and security. They do not see Australia as the only partner, but want to cooperate with other countries such as China. Not relying too much on one country and achieving extensive cooperation is in line with the development needs of the South Pacific island countries and is also conducive to the development and revitalization of the South Pacific region. "The South Pacific is not a geopolitical game, but an important platform for all parties to work together to promote the realization of the United Nations 2030 Development Goals." ”
Lan Jianxue pointed out that the general economy of the South Pacific Island Countries is small, the population size is small, the natural conditions are limited, and the level of economy, science and technology, and health is low. The COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions have further exposed their development flaws. Australia should think about how to work pragmatically with China and other major countries to help small island states solve pain points and difficult issues such as climate change, environmental pollution, ecological fragility, and development governance. What the South Pacific region needs is external substantive assistance without geopolitical objectives and without political conditions to help it cope with the epidemic, recover its economy and maintain stability.
"The South Pacific region should not be reduced to a 'back garden' circled by a certain country, but should get rid of the unfavorable situation of being isolated overseas and return to the Big Asia-Pacific family to become the 'hundred gardens' of the world." Equality is one of the core tenets of the 'Pacific Way' that has long been held among island nations. Historically, island nations that have been plundered by colonialists and suzerainties have longed to be treated as truly equals by the great powers, rather than providing 'handouts' in a commanding manner. Lan Jianxue said. (Reporter Lin Zihan)
People's Daily Overseas Edition ( 2022.06.25. 06 edition)