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Anti-China, US-led ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ group to meet amid ‘anxiety’ over Chinese military ‘footprints’
- The group was formed in June and includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Britain. India has observer status. Other nations are expected to join
- A White House official said there is an ‘undeniable strategic component’ to the stepped-up engagement. Climate change and Covid are also on the agenda
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) countries on Thursday with the aim of better coordinating assistance to the region in the face of competition from China, a White House official said.
The group was formed in June and includes the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Britain. India has an observer status with the PBP, White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said in remarks at an event in New York. A few other countries would join too, he said.
Campbell said circumstances for Pacific island nations were “much more dire” than in the past.
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China and US both needed on board for climate change action, says Tuvalu minister
China and US both needed on board for climate change action, says Tuvalu minister
“Their livelihoods are threatened,” he said, pointing to the “existential” threat they face from climate change and the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourism revenue and business.
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“Much of the assistance in the Pacific is not as well coordinated as it could be. We have not learned as much about best practices. We’re going to seek to do that as we go forward, building on the existing institutions and engagements of the Pacific.”
Some different countries would be doing more in the Pacific diplomatically “in terms of business prospects and aid and assistance,” Campbell added.
He said there was an “undeniable strategic component” to the stepped-up engagement.
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