2023-04-29 12:34:29
US President Joe Biden will meet 18 leaders from South Pacific countries at the end of May in Papua New Guinea, this Oceanian state announced on Saturday, as Washington and Beijing vie for influence in the region.
Considered a relatively marginal area from a diplomatic point of view following the Second World War, the South Pacific became a crucial terrain for the rivalry for the great powers, starting with China and the United States.
Biden is planning bilateral meetings with his hosts and will also have “a meeting with the leaders of the 18 leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum”, Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said during a meeting. a press conference in Port-Moresby.
This regional block is essentially made up of small island states in the Pacific Ocean.
The Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand are among the leaders invited.
Mr Biden will land on May 22 in Papua New Guinea where he will be the first sitting US president to visit in at least a century.
He is also due to attend a G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and a summit in Sydney, Australia, with the informal alliance called “Quad”, which the United States forms with Japan, Australia and the United States. India.
US special envoy Joseph Yun admitted this week that the United States was trying to “catch up” following years of relative neglect during which Beijing increased its influence in the region.
China recently signed a secret security pact with the Solomon Islands that might allow Chinese soldiers to be deployed or stationed in the country.
In March 2023, a Chinese state-owned company won a contract to develop the capital Honiara’s international port, a major victory in Beijing’s quest for a strategic hold in the South Pacific. This region might prove essential in the event of a military conflict linked to Taiwan.
– Catch-up –
“We need to accelerate our catch-up,” Yun told the Hudson Institute this week, adding, “Any high-level engagement is welcome.”
“Let’s face it: this is a strategic competition between China and us,” he acknowledged.
“Have we neglected the Pacific? The answer is yes,” he continued, “so I appreciate that more attention is currently being devoted to it. We’re trying to fix that a bit.”
Mr. Biden’s trip might also help finalize the defense cooperation agreement between the United States and Papua New Guinea. It aims to increase joint training and increase the development of security infrastructure in the Oceanian state.
Washington is working there in particular on setting up a naval installation at Lombrum, on the island of Manus (northeast).
Construction began in mid-2020, according to the Australian Department of Defence, which is also participating in the project. Four Guardian-class patrol boats are eventually to be stationed there.
AFP
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