Rising sea levels and extreme weather events continue to occupy much of the debate at the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Tonga.
Pacific Island Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa has used his address to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, to highlight emerging threats facing the region. These, he says, include climate change and rising geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington.
However, he said the leaders remain optimistic about finding collective solutions to address this crisis.
He stressed the need to meet the climate challenges posed to the low-lying nations by prioritising resilience across all policies and sectors, particularly those that directly affect people, such as health and education.
Waqa also highlighted the need to remain vigilant on regional security issues.
“Central to these considerations is ensuring that we secure our place and our prosperity for future generations,” he said. “As we have advocated since its launch over the past two years, the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent sets our collective vision for the region.”
That strategy allows Forum leaders to strengthen regional solidarity and promote their respective interests, he told the meeting.
“Our Forum leaders can come together to discuss and make decisions on matters that will advance our region’s priorities. We may be small island countries, but as a new Pacific continent, we are a force to be reckoned with,” he said.
Although he refrained from criticising Beijing on this occasion, Waqa—whose appointment to the role earlier this year was met with criticism—clashed with CCP representatives in 2018 when he was chairing the PIF leaders’ meeting, labelling one Chinese official “crazy” and “insolent” when the delegation left the room. He was Nauru’s president at the time.
When Waqa took up the role of Secretary-General in June, he was asked at his first press conference about the 2018 incident.
He said then that geopolitics could be “nasty” and that tensions between Beijing and Washington and its allies could endanger smaller Pacific nations trying to protect their independence.
“If China behaves like that, continues to behave like that disregarding our sovereignty … then it’s hard,” he said.
However, he was also critical of the United States and Australia, saying they were to blame for escalating tensions in the Pacific because of their determination to curb Beijing’s growing influence.
“It’s not just about China coming in and trying to take over. It’s also about others’ response,” he said at the time.
“We don’t want them to fight in our backyard here. Take that elsewhere.”
In 2018, Nauru maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan but switched recognition to Beijing earlier this year.