By Setope Sooaemalelagi, Liaocheng University Shangdong China
On the stroke of midnight the Solomon Islands and Kiribati have in unison switched its foreign policy compass directly to Beijing and have ended a tenuous relationship with Taiwan which was baffling not only for China but for its Pacific neighbors most of whom are signatories to the Belt and Road Initiative.
The One-China principle has been officially accepted by 179 countries around the world including the United States, Australia and New Zealand. It’s obvious that the Solomon Islands and Kiribati have made the correct choice by joining this mainstream.
The move brings direct and tangible benefits for the Pacific and for national development goals set by individual Pacific countries.
China is the worlds second largest economy and more importantly this point is overshadowed by China’s consultative style of diplomacy – a style Pacific leaders value highly.
Therefore China is viewed as a proactive and benign world power. Once Pacific Island countries establish diplomatic relations with China and sign up to BRI, their abilities to tackle pressing economic and environmental issues improve exponentially.
It is of great significance that not one but two major Island nations of the Pacific in the month of September 2019 have cut ties with Taiwan in favor of China – this being a Chinese master stroke in international diplomacy particularly on the eve of celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the PRC. Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa in particular are increasingly looking north to strengthen ties with East Asia, despite their remoteness from the emerging global geopolitical and geo-economic center.
Samoa has been skillful in nurturing its relationship with China by setting up the Confucius Institute at National University of Samoa in 2018 and strengthening its economic ties through bi-lateral aid projects culminating in Samoa’s hosting the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDs) in 2014 and two South Pacific Games within the last decade. It therefore comes as no surprise that Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare and Kiribati President Taneti Mamau opted to join the BRI Pacific club and why not? Vice President of the USA Mike Pence remarked that the Solomon’s had broken ranks and immediately cancelled a scheduled meeting with Manasseh Sogavare on the side at the United Nations Assembly September 2019 ( A reaction likely met with derision if not laughter) – the Solomon’s had an inglorious past where its lands marked the worst destruction of Pacific naval battles during World War II in 1942 – Guadacanal naval battle and the third Battle of the Solomon Sea. Neither the Japanese nor Americans bothered to clean up its mess of rust bucket tanks, air craft and sunken warships. In fact these ghosts of war have been the subject of Discovery channel documentaries and diving expeditions and sorely for the Solomon Islanders a reminder that war is a living grim museum for some parts of the Pacific. To this day twisted hulks of metal and military ordinances litter the pristine Jungles of the Solomon’s rendering large swathes of fertile land unsafe for habitation. Kiribati on the other hand is one of the ‘pearls’ which makes up the ‘string of pearls’ in the Pacific and its territorial Ocean waters covers a staggering 3,441,810 km2 (1,328,890 sq mi) of the richest marine fisheries on the planet. With a population of just over 100,000 Islanders Kiribati needs China’s support to keep a third of its land in the form of scattered Island atolls from sinking beneath the sea – literally speaking.
Samoa in every Pacific Islands gathering since the early days of the fore-runner Pacific Island forum has championed the ‘Pacific way’ and the need for nations to strike their own foreign policies based on their geo-political and economic interests. When China made its presence known through the ‘Blue’ BRI – western nations were sleeping and had not revised its Pacific portfolio to reflect the growing concerns of Island nations in a globalized world. Samoa’s voice at the United Nations resonated with its Pacific brothers and sisters for the simple reason that it was being listened to – climate change and rising ocean levels were key points in Prime Minister of Samoa Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi’s address to the United nations in 2015 but far more significant was his mention of China and how Pacific nations had an obligation to honor their bi-lateral agreements with China. All this was happening while policy makers in Washington and London were scurrying about anticipating their Commander in Chiefs next brain snap the Pacific was kept in a dusty folder labeled ‘least developed nation status’. China on the other hand was rolling out the diplomatic charm through cultural exchanges and infrastructure projects never seen or to be replicated in the future of the entire Pacific region.
It’s actually the Pacific people’s choice to establish diplomatic relations with China. Pacific nations no doubt have acquired a more balanced opinion of China as someone who respects all countries no matter large or small. What is attractive for PICs is that China offers less stringent and softer options for shared development without political pre-conditions. China considers PICs as brothers and regards all countries equal in status, culture and civilization.
There is but one China in the world and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. These are basic facts and consensus of the international community. The Solomons, Kiribati, Samoa and every other Pacific nation are acutely aware of this reality and which is why globally China’s position on this issue remains unshakable.
Now the Pacific Islands community is strengthened with the Solomon Islands and Kiribati inclusion. In part the family of Pacific island nations can now share in drinking kava fortified by the altruistic intentions of an emerging world power – China.
“Trust is not bought” rather earned and the world is a much better place than it was yesterday with China’s commitment to building a shared future.
Setope Sooaemalelagi is a research fellow at Liaocheng University Shangdong China and is specializing in the Maritime Belt and Road Initiative: Relations between China and Samoa.