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China’s increasing impact in South Pacific region

Awareness

China has progressively increased the influence in South Pacific during the previous two decades. Many people believe that this expansion is happening at a far faster pace than what would be expected given China’s expanding economic and geopolitical dominance. What is China’s South Pacific aim, and what concerns does this pose? China’s presence mostly in South Pacific has grown so vast in the last three years, and its behaviour in other regions of the world has been so assertive, as alarm bells have begun to ring in the capital cities of it’s South Pacific’s traditional partners. The South Pacific is noted for its beautiful beaches, diverse cultural and geographic landscapes, and distinct development challenges. The 14 sovereign nations & seven teritories cover almost 15% of the world’s area and have a combined population of less than 13 million people. The Melanesian subregion of the Pacific Ocean skirts Australia’s east coast. The distance between Australia & Papua New Guinea is only 6 kilometres, while the distance between Australia and Vanuatu is only 2,000 kilometres. Eastern Kiribati atolls are only 3,000 kilometres from Hawaii, whereas Palauis 1,300 kilometres from Guam. China’s Footprint In the South Pacific, China seems to have apresence. For decades, ethnic Chinese have lived in the area and run some of the region’s oldest commercial houses. For decades, the China-Taiwan struggle for regional diplomatic friends have resulted in some jockeying by briefcase diplomacy among the 2 throughout the region.…