NEW DELHI: During World War II, the U.S. built many of the airports and hospitals still in use across the Pacific, but the infrastructure has mostly been left to decay. China has stepped in with ambitious plans, Damien Cave, Sydney bureau chief of The New York Times, writes in an analysis.
China’s interest in the Pacific Islands starts with maritime real estate. Chinese fishing fleets dominate the seas, and China plans to add ports, airports and other infrastructure. Beijing has recently signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands that gives it the power to send security forces to quell unrest or protect Chinese investments, and possibly to build a port for commercial and military use.
In Fiji and the Solomon Islands, the U.S. is trying to step up its game, but it is still far behind.
On the ground: Many Pacific Island nations do not welcome the great-power competition. But what they do want, and what China seems better at providing right now, is consistent engagement and capacity building.
Quotable: “The United States doesn’t have a significant presence in the Pacific at all,” Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in security studies at Massey University in New Zealand, said. “I’m always shocked that in Washington they think they have a significant presence when they just don’t.”
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