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
“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.
US, Japan and allies form new Pacific group to blunt China’s clout
He said there was an “undeniable strategic component” to the stepped-up engagement.
“We’ve seen in the last several years a more ambitious China that seeks to develop footprints militarily and the like in the Indo-Pacific … that has caused some anxiety with partners like Australia and New Zealand, even countries in the region as a whole.”
“We are going to step up our game with respect to supporting a variety of initiatives across the Pacific that will positively affect the Solomons as well,” he said. “But we’ve also been clear about what our concerns are and we would not want to see … a capacity for long-range power projection.”
Pacific island leaders said this month Washington should accept their priorities, making climate change – not superpower competition – the most urgent security task.