Why are world leaders racing to the Pacific Islands?
Al JazeeraIt’s not just the US and China. China’s recently reappointed Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited in June 2022, at the end of a trip to eight Pacific Island nations, while the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed this May. A decades-long conflict between Indonesia’s military and separatist rebels in Papua, a province that borders Papua New Guinea, has for long shadowed Jakarta’s relations with Pacific Island nations. With the Pacific Islands nations – long close to Australia, New Zealand and the broader West – opening up to others, Indonesia “must seize the opportunity to play a role”, Wardhani said. The region’s success in getting multiple major nations to focus on Pacific Island nations also points to a quiet confidence that this – in Tarte’s words – was an “opportunity” they can benefit from.
History of this topic
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