Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting: Protect Maritime Order Through Broad Cooperation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:26 JST, July 19, 2024

It is important for Japan and Pacific island nations to work together to promote regional stability, as they are all maritime countries.

Japan hosted the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM), inviting the leaders and other officials from 18 countries and regions in the South Pacific. The meeting, which has been held every three years since 1997, took place for the 10th time this year.

The leaders’ declaration and joint action plan adopted at the meeting stated that Japan will cooperate in seven priority areas, including climate change and security.

Regarding climate change measures, Japan will introduce a system to provide disaster information to residents of Pacific island nations by utilizing its quasi-zenith satellite. The system is aimed at helping these nations prepare for situations in which they lose communication capabilities.

Vanuatu and Fiji are located on plate boundaries in the South Pacific and are therefore often hit by major earthquakes. Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are low-lying countries and are troubled by rising sea levels and tsunami.

If Japan’s advanced satellite technology can be used to help these island nations better deal with disasters, Japan and these countries will likely be able to deepen their relationships of trust.

In the security field, the Japan Coast Guard and the Self-Defense Forces will be dispatched to strengthen personnel exchanges with an aim to help the Pacific island nations improve their coast guard capabilities.

The South Pacific is an important sea lane for Japan. Regarding fishing, Japanese vessels are allowed to catch tuna and bonito in the exclusive economic zones of island countries based on agreements with them. It is in Japan’s national interest to deepen cooperative relations with countries in the region.

The leaders’ declaration also stated — with China in mind — that the participating countries “expressed strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by the threat or use of force or coercion.” This is the first time for the PALM to have included such a statement in its declaration.

China continues its aggressive maritime expansion through such methods as reclaiming reefs in the South China Sea and unilaterally turning them into its military bases. It is likely that Pacific island nations are also cautious over China’s moves, but Beijing is trying to build stronger ties with them by providing huge amounts of assistance to help improve their ports, airports and other infrastructure.

Even though the leaders’ declaration included expressions aimed at holding China in check, it would be hasty to assume that Pacific island nations would reconsider their good relations with Beijing.

The United States and China have been struggling for supremacy in the South Pacific in recent years.

Many nations in this region used to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, as China has stepped up its offensive in diplomacy, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have severed ties with Taiwan and instead established relations with Beijing.

On the other hand, the United States is trying to regain its influence in the region through such actions as opening embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga last year.

Japan has built friendly relations with Pacific island nations over the years through holding the PALM. It should continue to provide support specific to the needs of each country and region by taking advantage of such favorable ties.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 19, 2024)