#Vulnerable #Pacific #islands #call #urgent #action #climate #change
Vulnerable Pacific islands on Thursday called for “urgent, immediate” global action on climate change, emphasizing a commitment to democracy and the “rules-based” international order in the face of China’s growing regional influence.
At a key summit in the Fijian capital Suva, island leaders warned time is running out to avoid “worst-case scenarios” that see their countries — many teetering just above sea level — submerged by increasingly violent storms or be made uninhabitable.
“We are at the forefront of the adverse impacts of climate change,” leaders said in a joint 2050 strategy document agreed after three days of talks.
“Urgently robust and transformative action” is needed “globally, regionally and nationally,” they said.
This Pacific Islands Forum summit is the first to be held in person since the pandemic began, but instead of a warm reunion, the event was marred by internal divisions and a struggle for influence between the United States and China.
On the eve of the summit, Beijing-aligned leaders in Kiribati announced they would not be attending and withdrew from the forum.
The vast Pacific region is dotted with verdant, sparsely populated islands but sits on major international shipping routes that make it a melting pot of geopolitical rivalry.
– China, US competition –
Vice President Kamala Harris used a video address to the forum to announce that the United States would establish two new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati, appoint a regional envoy and pump an additional $600 million into the region.
China has made no secret of its ambition to challenge longstanding US dominance in the Pacific, using state-backed firms and checkbook diplomacy to gain a foothold.
There was widespread concern earlier this year when China signed a secret security deal with the Solomon Islands that critics fear could pave the way for establishing a military base.
Leaders noted that the region’s security environment was “growing more crowded” and “great power positioning” was taking its toll.
But, echoing Washington’s often-used language, leaders also warned that the “rules-based order for peace and security” is coming under “increasing pressure” and that the “Pacific region is not immune.”
They also profess “democratic principles” and “human rights” that run counter to China’s authoritarian system of government.
On the sidelines of the event, China also suffered another apparent setback when Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare stressed his country would not host a foreign military base.
Establishing such a base would make the Solomon Islands an “enemy” of the Pacific and “make our country and our people targets for possible military strikes,” Sogavare told broadcaster RNZ Pacific.
The “Solomon Islands government will never allow our country and people to become military targets,” he said.
Similar assurances were made by Sogavare during his first meeting with Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday.
Sogavare hugged Albanese on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum and told the Australian leader ‘I need a hug’.
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