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Australia unveiled measures to strengthen the economy and security of the South Pacific island countries, including a $ 2 billion ($ 1.5 billion) infrastructure program in the last phase of the program. battle for China's influence in the region.
The measures announced by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison were made when Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne met with her counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing for talks to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Payne is Australia's first foreign minister to visit Beijing in nearly three years following tensions over foreign influence laws and Canberra's criticism of China's militarization of the islands in the South China Sea.
Morrison said Canberra is pushing its commitments with Pacific island countries to a higher level by channeling $ 2 billion in grants and long-term loans to projects in the fields of energy, transportation and transportation. , water and telecommunications.
Efic, Australia's export credit agency, will provide $ 1 billion of additional capital for infrastructure projects and business development in the South Pacific. Australia is also opening diplomatic posts, cofinancing a naval base in Papua New Guinea, and increasing military cooperation and naval deployments.
"My government is bringing the Pacific back to where it should be: at the center of Australia's strategic outlook, foreign policy and personal relations, including at the highest levels of government," Morrison said.
"It's not just our area or our neighborhood. This is our home. This is where Australia can make the biggest difference in world affairs. "
Analysts said Canberra's decision to announce its strategy for the South Pacific the same day aimed to rebuild its relationship with Beijing, reflecting a complex reality in which it must be both a competitor and a partner with China.
"Australia is showing that it can walk and chew gum at the same time as it relates to China. In this new relationship, we must accept competition and the ensuing tensions, "said Richard McGregor, analyst at the Lowy Institute think tank.
Australia is increasingly concerned about China's growing influence in the South Pacific, a region with some of the world's poorest nations, but rich in natural resources.
Beijing has committed more than $ 6 billion in aid over the past seven years, mostly in the form of soft loans, making it the second largest donor in the region.
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Xi Jinping, president of China, will pay a state visit to Papua New Guinea next week, during which he will also attend a summit of Apec – a forum of governments of China. 39 Asia-Pacific – alongside Mr. Morrison.
Xi is expected to take advantage of the visit to strengthen ties with Pacific island leaders and persuade some of the six countries officially recognizing Taiwan to join Beijing.
Yu Changsen, professor at the Ocean Studies Center of Sun Yat-sen University, based in Guangzhou, said that every country, no matter how heavy, had a right to vote in the country. UN and that Beijing intended to strengthen its diplomatic relations.
"There is a vacuum in the South Pacific Islands because Australia, New Zealand and some Western countries have not been very active in this region in recent years," he said. . "This offers China the opportunity to enter."
Xinning Liu's additional report
