Ahead of her flight on Wednesday night,Wong said Australia understood that the security of the Pacific “is the responsibility of the Pacific family,of which Australia is a part”.
“We understand that we need to work together like never before,for our peoples and for generations to come,” she said.
The Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit to Samoa at the weekend involved negotiations on climate change,pandemic recovery and police training. In Tonga on Tuesday,Wang committed China’s resources to disaster management agencies,a police laboratory and customs inspection equipment - sharpening Beijing’s focus on its humanitarian and security priorities. Wang was in Vanuatu on Wednesday. Chinaapproached Vanuatu in 2018 to build a military base,but Wednesday’s discussions have yet to be publicly released.
Wang said claims that China had plans to increase its military presence in Pacific Island Countries were “complete misinformation”. A leaked draft of a security deal with Solomon Islands in April revealed plans for China to be able to replenish ships and protect Chinese investments with force if necessary.
“China has no intention to compete with anyone,let alone vie for geopolitical interests or create a so-called sphere of influence,” Wang said on Tuesday in Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa.
But Beijing put some Pacific island nations including Niue and Samoa offside on Monday by attempting to ram through a region-wide deal without sufficient time for consultation. The Pacific leaders rejected the security and trade deal because they had not reached a consensus,forcing Beijing to rush out a position paper that stripped out references to policing,data security and free trade.