Washington’s No 2 diplomat concluded his Pacific tour on Friday with a focus on tensions in the South China Sea and boosting Nato’s ties in the Indo-Pacific vis-à-vis Beijing amid controversy over support for Taiwan at a high-profile regional gathering.
US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell had been travelling in the strategically vital region since Wednesday for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ summit in Tonga. The US is one of the PIF’s more than 20 dialogue partners, alongside China, the European Union, France and Britain.
Campbell on Thursday attended the opening ceremony of America’s newest embassy, located in Port Vila, Vanuatu, and on Friday he met with New Zealand’s foreign minister, Bede Corry, in Auckland.
In a joint statement after their meeting, Campbell and Corry expressed “grave concern about dangerous, destabilising and provocative actions in the South China Sea, including by Chinese vessels towards Philippine vessels”.
The envoys recognised “the increasing connectivity between Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security and stability” and “welcomed the deepening coordination among Nato and Indo-Pacific partners”.
The remarks built on the Nato summit in Washington in July, when the US announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would meet this year with the foreign ministers of New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea – the transatlantic security alliance’s Indo-Pacific partners.
The US and China are locked in a contest to gain access to prime maritime routes and rich mineral deposits lining the Pacific floor. Both seek strategic defence advantages that come with forging alliances with countries in the region.
According to the US-New Zealand statement on Friday, the two sides “underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues”.
The issue of Taiwan’s status emerged as a PIF flashpoint on Friday. A regional Chinese official demanded revisions to the group’s long-standing language on the island’s partner status with the forum in the summit’s final communique.
The communique stated the PIF attendees this week had “reaffirmed the 1992 leaders’ decision on relations with Taiwan/Republic of China”. Thereafter the document appeared to have been removed from the forum’s website.
Taiwan has been a “development partner” with the group, a status initially established by the PIF leaders’ communique in 1992 and reaffirmed in 1999 and 2010.
Formed in 1971, the PIF is an intergovernmental organisation comprising 18 member states located in the Pacific region.
Qian Bo, China’s special envoy for the Pacific, called the language on Taiwan a “surprising mistake” that “must be corrected”, according to Australia’s national broadcaster, ABC.
“The situation is obvious,” Qian said. “Among the 18 members of the PIF, 15 countries have diplomatic relations with China and 15 countries have categorically stated they stand by the one-China principle.”
Neither the Chinese embassy in Washington nor PIF could immediately be reached for comment.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary.
Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
In recent years, several countries, including some Pacific island nations, have severed ties with Taipei.
Five years ago, Taiwan counted six allies in the region. However, Nauru cut diplomatic relations in January, following the Solomon Islands and Kiribati in 2019. Currently, only Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and Palau maintain formal relations with Taipei.
Australian media reports indicated that the Solomon Islands lobbied for Taiwan’s PIF standing to be removed, an effort that divided the bloc.
Alarmed by Beijing’s rising influence in the region, the US and its allies have in recent years sought to bolster ties with Pacific island nations.
Since taking office in 2021, US President Joe Biden has hosted Pacific leaders at the White House twice.
His administration has prioritised increased aid, coastguard support and diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing’s advances. Before opening its new embassy in Vanuatu, the US established missions in the Solomon Islands and Tonga.
While in Tonga this week, Campbell announced plans to allocate more than US$10 million in additional funding to enhance Pacific Island countries’ efforts to adapt to climate change and their disaster resilience.
A viral video from the summit showed Campbell bantering with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about sharing the cost of a Pacific policing initiative announced on Wednesday.
Campbell praised the plan, viewed as a response to China’s security agreements with the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, as “fantastic”.
He noted that Washington had considered a similar initiative until Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, requested they hold off.
“We’ve given you the lane, so take the lane!” Campbell remarked, prompting Albanese to say, “Only cost you a bit.”
Under the plan, Canberra would provide initial funding of US$271 million to establish up to four regional police training centres and a multinational crisis response force.
A contingent of about 200 officers from various Pacific island nations could be deployed to regional hotspots and disaster zones as needed and invited.
While other Pacific nations have publicly supported the initiative, the Solomon Islands, a Beijing ally, has voiced concerns that the Canberra-brokered plan could limit its ability to collaborate with China.
“There is one thing that is not so much nagging us, but it’s of concern,” said Peter Agovaka, the Solomons’ foreign minister, on Friday. “I don’t think another sovereign state should put conditions on another sovereign state.”
Additional reporting from agencies
