A key Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) meeting set to be held next month will exclude non-member nations and dialogue partners like China, the United States and Taiwan – a move that aims to hold off a developing diplomatic tussle.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele had suggested restricting PIF dialogue partners from the annual leaders’ meeting in letters previously sent to member states of the Forum.
In the latest decision, the Solomon Islands announced last week it would do so, as it tries to balance political wrangling and prepare to hold the leaders’ meeting as this year’s host.
For the region’s interest
This comes amid concerns that Taiwan’s engagement in the Forum next month may be limited despite being a major donor partner.
The Solomon Islands are closely allied with China.
Manele said rather than partners being excluded, his proposal is instead operational in nature, especially as they work to finalise the review of the Pacific’s regional architecture.
“What we are saying here is, let’s give some more time for the region to put a new process in place so that we can effectively engage with our partners going forward, not now, but the later stage, once we are ready”, Manele said in a press conference on Friday.
He also dismissed claims that tensions between China and Taiwan were to blame for the decision, noting the Solomon Islands is a “sovereign nation” and that the move is based on the region’s interest.
The Forum’s meeting is scheduled to run from September 8 to 12 in Honiara.
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Palau backs deferment decision
Palau had previously backed the deferment move, saying it “acknowledges and respects the decision” of host Solomon Islands, according to Palau’s Office of the President, as cited by Radio New Zealand.
It believes deferring the partners’ dialogue will give PIF members more space to focus on critical intra-regional issues.
It will also allow them to fully complete the ongoing review of the new Partnership and Engagement Mechanism, ensuring the engagement of all partners remain “strategic, unified and aligned” with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
These issues include the High-Level Political Talanoa, the Ocean of Peace Declaration and the Pacific Resilience Facility, which Palau said are “matters of paramount importance” to the Pacific’s security, well-being and future.
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Future unity ‘hangs in the balance’
Taiwan’s ties with other nations remain few and far between, but in the Pacific, it enjoys diplomatic connections with the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr reiterated his position about Taiwan’s participation at the meeting in a May press conference this year.
“This is not about Palau’s relationship with China or Solomon’s Island’s relationship with Taiwan. It is about the PIF, and the PIF recognises both (China and Taiwan).”
“Within the PIF, we, of course, have our differences. But we come together as one Pacific”, Whipps said.
He mentioned challenges for Taiwan in gaining access to the meeting this year, and said that if the Solomon Islands could not “fulfil the obligations” as the Forum’s host, then it should not host it.
On the other hand, President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands said the future unity and stability of the Forum is at stake.
She was among the three leaders of nations with ties to Taiwan who underscored the importance of the Forum’s policies – and that the regional body should not allow non-member nations to dictate them.
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