MAY 31, 2022

10 nations reject China’s ‘security’ pact

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/05/10-nations-reject-chinas-security-pact/

During a summit in Fiji on Monday, Chinese negotiators failed to convince 10 Pacific island nations to join them on a mutual security and trade agreement that would’ve allowed China to establish a presence of security officers in their nations.

The Beijing-proposed security and trade pact would bring Pacific islands nations like the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Niue and Timor-Leste into closer alignment with the Chinese government. The pact would include law enforcement and fishing cooperation, providing China with Pacific hosts for security forces and ships that they could potentially use for military assets to be better positioned for a conflict with the U.S.

Fiji, the nation that hosted the virtual summit to consider China’s trade and security pact, recently joined the PEF, formed by President Joe Biden’s administration. By signing on to the PEF, Fiji has joined in alongside fellow members like Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Alexander Vuving, a professor at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, told Radio Free Asia “the shelving of the China-Pacific Islands deal at the last minute resulted from pressure by the United States, Australia, and maybe some other regional powers.”

“This is a diplomatic victory for these ‘China-wary’ nations and a diplomatic defeat for China,” Vuving said, though he warned that China “will not accept a defeat.”