Tag: Fiji

What to Know About Australia’s Contest With China in the Pacific After Beijing Tested a Missile

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On the day that China announced that it had successfully fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia was in Suva, the capital of Fiji. Mr. Albanese was visiting the country on Monday to sign two long-sought security agreements with Fiji’s leader, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. A week earlier, he was smiling and shaking hands with the prime minister of Vanuatu, having finalized a treaty with that island nation. The following day, he was in the Solomon Islands, standing shoulder…

Why China Fired a Long-Range Missile Into the Pacific

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With one missile fired over the Pacific Ocean from a submarine lurking off China’s coast, the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, has proclaimed his determination to build a full suite of nuclear weapons, including sea-based missiles that have long been Beijing’s weak spot. The missile test on Monday came after China’s military has been battered for years by mass removals of commanders accused of corruption and disloyalty. But Chinese media declared that the test showed the country remained on track to create a full nuclear triad; that is, a range of…

What does China’s long-range missile test in the South Pacific mean for Australia? | David Vallance

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At 12.01pm on Monday, a People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine test fired a ballistic missile into the South Pacific nuclear-free zone. This is the second time China has conducted a ballistic missile test in the Pacific in two years. Coming on the day Fiji became Australia’s fourth formal treaty ally, after the US, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, this test’s timing is interesting. It reads as a provocation at best, outright coercion at worst. It is not likely this was a spur-of-the-moment test. Even for a military whose sophistication…

Australia and Fiji sign surprise defence alliance amid push to limit China’s influence in the Pacific

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Australia and Fiji have signed a major new defence alliance, further advancing the federal government’s strategy to limit China’s influence across the Pacific region. In a surprise move, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his Fijian counterpart, Sitiveni Rabuka, elevated Australia’s ties with Fiji to a formal treaty alliance. After 75 years of Australia only having formal alliances with the US and New Zealand, the Albanese government has now added two new agreements in less than 12 months, following a deal signed with Papua New Guinea in October. In Suva…

Australia eyes security pact with Fiji as pushback from Beijing undermines agreement with Vanuatu

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Australia looks close to signing a landmark security and economic agreement with Fiji as part of the Albanese government’s efforts to contain China’s growing influence across the Pacific. But pushback from Beijing has undermined a separate pact with Vanuatu’s government, resulting in a scaling back of a deal aimed at locking in Australia as the country’s primary security partner. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, and the minister for Pacific Island affairs, Pat Conroy, were due to arrive in Suva on Tuesday afternoon as part of a three-day trip focused on…

‘A free limo is hard to turn away’: how car diplomacy turbo charges politics in the Pacific

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At a ceremony in January, a shiny black luxury sedan rolled into the leafy, rain-soaked ground of Fiji’s state house. It was a gift from China to the Pacific nation’s president, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, who thanked Beijing for the “beautiful limousine”. The vehicle given was a Hongqi or “Red Flag” car, the same brand used by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, during military parades. It is an example of China’s “prestige diplomacy”, says Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the US-based Stimson Center. “This is more symbolic than substantive,”…

China, climate crisis and Cop31: five takeaways from the Pacific Islands Forum

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1. China’s role in the region remains contentious Solomon Islands is China’s biggest security ally in the region and prime minister Jeremiah Manele’s decision to block all external partners from attending this year’s summit fuelled speculation that the move was aimed at keeping Taiwan out of the meeting. For more than 30 years, Taiwan has been deemed a “development partner” to the Pacific forum, so its exclusion – along with China and the US – became one of the key talking points of the forum. Palau’s president, Surangel Whipps Jr,…

Fiji to stick with China police deal after review, home affairs minister says

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Fiji will uphold a policing cooperation agreement with China after reviewing the deal, the country’s home affairs minister, Pio Tikoduadua, has confirmed, despite earlier concerns within the Pacific nation over the deal. The controversial agreement was signed in 2011 when Fiji was under military rule. Under the deal, Fijian officers have been trained in China while Chinese police have been embedded in the Fijian force. Beijing has also provided hi-tech equipment including surveillance gear and drones. The deal has been under review after Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, raised concerns…

Fiji may partner with China to upgrade ports and shipyards, PM Rabuka says

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China may help Fiji develop its ports and shipyards, the Pacific island country’s prime minister said, raising the prospect of stronger ties with Beijing in a key area of its economy. Prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who has been cautious about China’s expanding security footprint in the Pacific, praised Beijing’s record of aid to Fiji in fighting Covid-19, developing agriculture and revamping infrastructure. The modernisation of Fiji’s port facilities and shipyards is a “key focus” for sustainable economic development, Rabuka told parliament on Wednesday, after meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping…

Australia’s support to Pacific surges as China focuses on ‘friendly’ states, aid map shows

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Australia dramatically increased its overall support to the Pacific in 2021, while Beijing is targeting its development financing to “the most China-friendly Pacific island states”, the latest Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map shows. The map, released on Tuesday, also revealed that at a time of elevated debt sustainability risks in the Pacific, Australia has become the leading source of loans and contributed to a surge in infrastructure support. “Australia looks set to become the region’s dominant infrastructure financier, having committed an additional $780m in new projects,” the Lowy Institute research…