Key Points
- The Pacific Islands Forum is the chance for Australia to join with its nearest neighbours and invest in diplomatic relationships.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used his first weeks in power to make clear his commitment to the “Pacific family” and now gets the chance to make his pitch in person.
The Pacific Islands Forum is the chance for Australia to join with its nearest neighbours and invest in diplomatic relationships considered crucial to its standing in the region.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used his first weeks in power to make clear his commitment to the “Pacific family” and now gets the chance to make his pitch in person.
The leaders of the 18 Pacific Islands Forum countries will gather in Fiji this week for their annual meeting.
Climate change, China’s militarisation and attempts to expand its influence, as well as the lingering health and economic impacts of COVID-19 are key concerns.
This year’s forum will also be the first in-person leaders summit since the 2019 Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu.
Here’s a look at what could be on the agenda.
Climate change
Climate change is considered an existential threat to a Pacific region facing the consequences of sea levels, coastal flooding, and risk of worsening natural disasters.
Mr Albanese has said he believes Pacific leaders have welcomed his government’s more ambitious approach to the issue, compared with its predecessors.
The Albanese government has adopted an emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030 on 2005 levels, compared with the Morrison government’s target of 26-28 per cent.
(left to right) New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Samoa's former prime minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi and Federated States of Micronesia's President David W. Panueloat at the Pacific Islands Forum's last meeting in Tuvalu in 2019. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS
Dr Tess Newton Cain, project lead for the Pacific Hub at the Griffith Asia Institute, said concerns around climate change were central to how Pacific leaders operated.
“As we know there are plenty of people in the Pacific that think what we’ve seen from Australia is a good start but there’s still a long way to go,” she said.
She said one key consideration will be seeking an endorsement on the launch of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific from leaders at the forum.
The plan, spearheaded by Vanutu and Fiji, aims to lay out a long-term vision for goals in the region to address concerns over climate change, security and development.
China
China is not a member of the group, but its increasing engagement in the region is likely to feature as a discussion point.
It has reportedly proposed to hold an alternative meeting with about half of the Pacific islands it holds diplomatic ties with.
Ahead of the forum, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said Australia is committed to bringing new energy and resources to strengthening our Pacific family.
She's also previously described her new government’s attempts to enhance ties in the region as a partnership that “doesn’t come with strings attached”.
It's a veiled condemnation of the Chinese government's attempts to increase its own influence in the region through investment in infrastructure and development.
Dr Newton Cain said while the issue of China would not be on the formal agenda, its role in the region was likely to be a matter of discussion.
“We know that a number of Pacific leaders have said that they do want security to be discussed and the most obvious place for that would be in the leaders’ retreat.”
Regional security
China's growing sway in the Pacific and the potential for militarisation in the region's small island nations has caused concern, particularly in Australia and New Zealand.
These fears were realised through Solomon Islands signing of a security agreement with Beijing in April this year, despite the Pacific nation denying it's a move towards militarisation.
Since then, China has also been pushing for a regional cooperation deal with almost a dozen Pacific nations on policing, security and data communications.
Melissa Conley-Tyler, program lead at think tank the Asia Pacific Development Diplomacy and Defence Diologue said Australia needed to be careful in its approach to the issue.
“The Pacific is and will always be a key area for Australia’s strategic interests,” she told SBS News.
“There is a danger at the moment that Australia’s engagements in the region are seen very much in a political frame.”
Australia’s diplomatic standing
Mr Albanese doesn’t come empty handed to the meeting, with his government having already promised additional investment in programs targeting the Pacific region.
The pledges include a $200 million fund for infrastructure and development, as well as $525 million in development support for the Pacific.
His foreign minister has already laid the groundwork for establishing diplomatic ties with the region, making stopovers in Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji.
Ms Conley-Tyler said for Mr Albanese the trip would be about “cementing” the positive signals his new government in attempting to “reset relations in the Pacific.”
“Clearly that is something that every new government would want to do try to use that opportunity,” she said.
COVID-19
Analysts say the meeting also comes against the backdrop of the region having been heavily hit by the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.
Dr Newton Cain said Pacific island nations had “opened up” after enforcing border closures and recommenced tourism vital to their economies, but lingering impacts remained.
“A key issue is about debt because countries have had to take on quite a lot of debt in order to keep paying the bills and keep the lights on,” she said.
She said there are ongoing issues getting vaccinations up amongst members, including Papua New Guinea where only around 3 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated.
“There’s still work to be done around that.”
