NADI, Fiji — As the first United States Secretary of State to visit Fiji in 36 years, Antony J. Blinken wanted to make it clear that flying here to meet the leaders of the Pacific Islands was just the beginning of a growing US presence.
“We see our long-term future in the Indo-Pacific,” said Mr. Shine at a press conference on Saturday night, standing next to Fiji’s acting leader. “It’s that simple and easy.”
Mr Blinken said the United States would soon open an embassy in another Pacific country, the Solomon Islands. He promised more US aid on climate change, Covid vaccines and illegal fishing, all of which are vital to the region.
But at their core, the pledges reflected US concerns about China and an effort to compete in a sparsely populated but strategically important area where Beijing has expanded its influence.
Acting Prime Minister of Fiji, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, welcomed the renewed US involvement. “America is uniquely positioned to be a direct partner to Fiji for peace and climate security,” he said. “We need American power and spirit, as well as breakthrough solutions and investment.”
The Pacific island nations are spread over a large area, between Hawaii, Asia, and Australia. They value their sovereignty and want to be seen as autonomous actors. Yet, like many other small countries, they are becoming increasingly entangled in global competition between the United States and China.
“While there are important differences between the Pacific islands, there is a clear understanding, even if they don’t admit it, that they are embroiled in an increasing geopolitical rivalry,” said Iati Iati, senior lecturer and Pacific Security Fellow at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
The island nations are diverse, but they share common concerns: slowing sea level rise that threatens to drown their low-lying lands; preserving the fisheries and ocean resources that provide them with food and income; contain the spread of Covid-19; and strengthening their own infrastructure, investment and governance.
Fiji was the second stop on Mr. Blinken’s week-long tour of the region, which is intended to signal that Asia-Pacific is the primary focus of President Biden’s foreign policy.
When he left Australia for Fiji, the White House released an 18-page article on its so-called Indo-Pacific strategy, emphasizing the need to “shape the strategic environment” in which China operates. That includes promoting democratic institutions and civil society in the region, as well as helping countries “deploy advanced warfare,” the document said.
The United States has long been present in the Pacific island chains. American troops built airfields and hospitals during the battles with Japan in the region in World War II, but the United States generally withdrew afterward, especially from countries in the South Pacific like Fiji.
“The fact is, they have not been in this space for a very long time,” said Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum in an interview.
Under President Donald J. Trump, US officials who oversaw Asia policy said they feared China would use the promise of prosperity and coercion to bring certain islands under its sphere of influence and set up military bases in the region. following in the footsteps of Japan almost a century ago.
That would block the US military’s ability to island-hop and quickly send troops to Asia in the event of war, they said.
Biden government officials also say they are concerned about China’s military and security plans for the region.
Violent protests erupted in November in the Solomon Islands, where Beijing had for years cultivated officials with loans, aid and favors, fueling frustration among some provincial leaders over the intimate relationship. Four people were killed in protests in the capital Honiara, and many Pacific islands with a growing Chinese presence worry that tensions could rise elsewhere over what is often referred to as “elite capture” – that is, a power like Beijing essentially buying influence with politicians and business leaders.
US officials, both Republicans and Democrats, have expressed concern that one of China’s primary ways of exerting influence in the region is through what they call “debt trap diplomacy”: borrowing money after paying close attention to decision-makers , and then make demands on governments that struggle to repay it.
For countries often seen as dots on the map, China’s interest was hard to resist. When China’s leader Xi Jinping visited Fiji’s capital in 2014 and addressed many of the region’s leaders, he promised friendship and infrastructure and encouraged them to board “the Chinese express train of development”.
Many did. Major construction projects followed, on roads, harbor improvements and sports stadiums, much of which was linked to high debt. In Fiji’s capital Suva, the bridge to the main market was rebuilt with funding from China’s so-called Belt and Road Initiative. Queen Elizabeth Drive, the coastal road that passes major government buildings (and China’s new embassy), is being repaired by a Chinese state engineering firm.
But there are signs of waning enthusiasm. The Fiji government recently halted construction on what would become Suva’s tallest building, the Wanguo Friendship Plaza, a residential tower being built by a private Chinese firm. It’s an empty shell; Fiji halted development over complaints of falling debris and other issues.
“The honeymoon is over,” said Jonathan Pryke, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia.
America’s main regional allies, Australia and New Zealand, have stepped up their own efforts in the islands with aid and investment. Australia’s largest telecommunications company, Telstra, agreed a few months ago to buy the Pacific business of Digicel, the region’s largest mobile phone network, in a deal funded by the Australian government.
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But island governments are turning to bigger powers for help with climate change. Global warming has led to rapidly rising water levels around the islands and a spate of devastating storms.
“While people are still recovering from one cyclone, you have another,” said Frances Namoumou, head of climate justice programs at the Pacific Conference of Churches in Suva. “The frequent occurrence of these disasters, exacerbated by climate change — that’s what we know.”
Mr Blinken, in his remarks on Saturday after meeting with Pacific leaders via video, described climate change as a security risk, as did Fijian officials. They argued that the most important thing the United States could do was make it easier for Pacific countries to access money to prepare for and respond to climate disasters.
Critics worry that despite much talk about climate resilience, Americans may be focusing on the more traditional element of military security.
“Very often there’s the idea that US security interests come first and that once you know that, it’s just about selling it to the people who occupy the land and ports,” said Richard Herr, a US law professor. at the University of Tasmania. who has been advising the governments of the Pacific for decades.
“But the islanders’ first priority has always been development – that copper ring of a better future for themselves and their children,” he added. “They don’t see through a safety lens.”
One of the most tangible elements of the US strategy for the Pacific Islands is the deployment of coastguard vessels in the region under “shiprider” agreements, which allow local authorities to board US ships and help local and international fisheries laws.
The decision to open an embassy in the Solomon Islands also seems motivated by security concerns, as well as another issue often noted by critics of US engagement in the region: a lack of diplomatic resources.
The US embassies in Fiji and Australia both have no permanent ambassadors, in part because Republicans in Congress have held up Mr Biden’s nominations. US political dysfunction is widely seen in Asia as a barrier to US efforts abroad; Islanders will look at how quickly Washington can get an ambassador and significant staff to the Solomon Islands, and how quickly Mr. Blinken’s visit and promises will lead to measurable results.
“What’s really good is that they’ve stepped into space now,” said Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum, Acting Prime Minister of Fiji, after meeting Mr. shine. “We know they can’t do that overnight, but there seems to be a very strong philosophical commitment.”