Samoa yesterday signed a bilateral agreement with China, promising “greater collaboration” as Beijing’s foreign minister continues a tour of the South Pacific that has sparked concern among Western allies.
The deal’s details are unclear, coming midway through a Chinese delegation’s eight-nation trip — but an earlier leaked draft agreement sent to several Pacific countries outlined plans to expand security and economic engagement.
The mission has prompted Western leaders to urge regional counterparts to spurn any Chinese attempt to extend its security reach across the region.
Photo: Samoa Observer / AFP
In a stark letter to fellow Pacific leaders, Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo said the agreement seems “attractive” at first glance, but would allow China to “acquire access and control of our region.”
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) and Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa had met and discussed “climate change, the [COVID-19] pandemic and peace and security,” the Samoan government said in a press release.
Local media were invited to witness the signing of a deal, but no questions were taken.
The deal contained an agreement to help build a police fingerprinting lab in addition to an already announced police academy in the country, which follows earlier commitments of “capacity building” for law enforcement in the Solomon Islands.
The release said that China would continue to provide infrastructural development support to various Samoan sectors and there would be a new framework for future projects “to be determined and mutually agreed.”
“Samoa and the People’s Republic of China will continue to pursue greater collaboration that will deliver on joint interests and commitments,” the release said.
The Chinese delegation has already visited the Solomon Islands and Kiribati this week.
It arrived in Samoa on Friday night before flying yesterday afternoon to Fiji, where Wang is to visit Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and attend a group meeting of foreign ministers from Pacific countries.
Other stops are expected in Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.
In a duel for influence, new Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong was in Fiji on Friday, seeking to woo island states after the Solomon Islands took Canberra by surprise last month by signing a security pact with China.
“We have expressed our concerns publicly about the security agreement,” Wong told reporters in the capital, Suva.
“As do other Pacific islands, we think there are consequences. We think that it’s important that the security of the region be determined by the region, and historically, that has been the case and we think that is a good thing,” she said.
Bainimarama yesterday said he had a “wonderful meeting” with Wong.
“Fiji is not anyone’s backyard — we are a part of a Pacific family,” Bainimarama wrote on Twitter.
He appeared to be taking a veiled swipe at former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison who was ousted in an election last weekend and once referred to the Pacific as Australia’s “backyard.”
“Our greatest concern isn’t geopolitics — it’s climate change,” Bainimarama wrote. “In that spirit, I had a wonderful meeting with Foreign Minister @SenatorWong to strengthen our Vuvale Partnership with Australia,” he said, using the Fijian word for “friendship.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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