Security and climate change high on agenda for start of Pacific Islands Forum

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Security in the Pacific will be high on the agenda when Pacific leaders gather in Solomon Islands for the start of the annual Pacific Islands Forum, the region's most important political meeting.

Transcript

00:00Well, the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting is kicking off today here in Honiara, the capital

00:08of Solomon Islands, and it's going to be a frenetic week of high-level diplomacy.

00:13Several leaders have already touched down here in Solomon Islands, with the Prime Minister

00:18Anthony Albanese due to join them later this week.

00:22The meeting has attracted plenty of controversy before even beginning, including over Solomon

00:27Islands' controversial decision to block almost two dozen so-called dialogue partners, that's

00:33basically outside countries with friendly relationships with the Pacific, from attending

00:38the meeting.

00:39Solomon Islands says the reason is purely procedural, but few here in Honiara buy that excuse.

00:46Many are convinced that Solomon Islands has essentially been forced into this position

00:50because it wanted to find a way to exclude Taiwan from the meeting, particularly because

00:56Beijing has been heaping pressure on Solomon Islands to do exactly that.

01:01And they say Mr. Minele's awkward compromise, blocking all partners, is basically the only

01:06way he could accede to that wish without also risking a damaging stoush with Taiwan's remaining

01:12Pacific partners.

01:14Pacific leaders, though, won't want to focus too much on that, although many will want to

01:18make sure it doesn't ever happen again.

01:20Instead they're going to be focused on some of their key priorities.

01:24And as ever, at the top of that list is climate change.

01:27Later this week, we're likely to see the Pacific Resilience Facility officially established

01:33by a treaty.

01:34That's a new fund for climate finance that Pacific leaders and countries have direct control

01:39over.

01:40The aim is for it to reach 500 million USD by the end of next year.

01:44A very lofty, perhaps difficult goal, but one that Pacific leaders say they have to meet

01:51in order to help their countries deal with the ravages of climate change.

01:55We're also likely to see a declaration of the so-called Ocean of Peace by Pacific leaders.

02:01This is an initiative by Fiji's Prime Minister, Fiji's Prime Minister Sitveni Rambuka, designed

02:07to try and lay down some key principles that can really guide foreign policy in the region.

02:12Although close observers say, given some of the stakes and given the tensions around things

02:17like China's role in the security space, the language is likely to be deliberately careful

02:23and very broad.

02:26Of course, it's not just what happens inside the meeting rooms here in Honiara.

02:30It's also about what happens on the streets.

02:32There's a real buzz around the town as people prepare for the influx of hundreds of journalists,

02:37officials and dignitaries.

02:39And inevitably, there's going to be a close focus on exactly what role China does or doesn't

02:45play here on the ground.

02:47In particular, what role, if any, will Chinese police play through the week?

02:51Australia and others would dearly like to relegate them to the margins.

02:55China, unsurprisingly, has other ideas.

02:58The other question looming over this, of course, is how much credit both China and Australia

03:03get for their assistance.

03:04Both countries have poured millions of dollars into helping Solomon Islands prepare and hold

03:10this event.

03:11There's been almost a beauty contest in the papers over the last few weeks, with both countries

03:16offering substantial donations, whether of police vehicles or police equipment, fixing

03:21up the roads, helping put solar panels on the buildings, really doing everything possible

03:26to make the venues look as good as they can.

03:29All of this means that inevitably what happens this week will be seen once again as a litmus

03:34test of just how much China has made inroads in Solomon Islands and a measure of just how

03:40determined Australia is to maintain the security and broader partner of choice for this critically

03:46important Pacific Island neighbour.

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