Xi Jinping to meet Pacific island leaders as Beijing seeks to further isolate Taiwan
- Region has become a front line in the diplomatic war between Beijing and Taipei
Chinese President Xi Jinping will sit down with seven Pacific island allies on Friday, doling out attention and perhaps some largesse in the hope of convincing more countries to drop recognition of Taiwan.
While nations have vied for resource contracts and influence along vital Pacific shipping routes, the region has also become a front line in the diplomatic war between Beijing and Taipei, which is struggling to retain support amid mainland China’s dramatic economic rise.
“Xi is not going to show up empty-handed,” when he meets leaders from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu in Port Moresby on Friday, said Jonathan Pryke from the Australian think tank Lowy Institute.
“Almost a full third of Taiwan’s remaining support base is in the Pacific islands region. Chequebook diplomacy is alive and well in this part of the world.”
For small countries, it has become more costly to forego relations with mainland China, the world’s second-largest economy – a fact Beijing has been keen to exploit.
“[Mainland] China has been much more aggressive in picking off Taiwan’s support base,” Pryke said.