Several leaders are calling for change at the regional Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), dissatisfied at the lack of action over the years, as at least five Pacific leaders have pulled out of the annual meeting in Palau this week.
Kiribati, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Solomon Islands won’t have top level representation at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting, which formally opens tonight.
The absence of five leaders out of the 18 PIF members – and uncertainty over whether a sixth leader, Nauru [Naoero] President David Adeang, will attend – is not ideal.
Adeang’s delegation boarded the NZ Defence Force flight to Palau without him, leaving uncertainty over whether he would join the leaders’ meeting.
Samoa’s Prime Minister Laʻaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, while acknowledging PIF was important, prioritised his country’s Measina Festival.
Five leaders are missing from the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, amid concerns over Chinese influence and growing tensions between China and Taiwan. (Source: 1News)
A statement from the Kiribati Foreign Ministry to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat said President Taneti Maamau couldn’t make it because of parliament sitting and a limited number of flights out of Kiribati.
However, 1News understands Maamau was on the official list of attendees as late as last week.
NZ’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters was not impressed by the late withdrawal and said the leaders’ meeting had been a longstanding date.
It was disappointing President Maamau could not make it, he said.
“We’ve all got to organise ourselves around these matters to get here,” he said.
Kiribati has sent its former ambassador to China and current Director of the Foreign Service David Teaabo to PIF instead. The country has close links with Beijing, couldn’t agree to a joint regional statement protesting China’s missile test into the Pacific and firmly supports the “One China” policy.
Taiwan has been given the green light to attend PIF in Palau as a development partner – despite China’s protests.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale arrived in Palau on Saturday night only to depart first thing Sunday morning after a motion of no confidence. According to the notice of motion filed against Wale, who holds together a fragile coalition, “the Prime Minister has repeatedly made unilateral decisions on matters of national importance without proper consultation with or the approval of cabinet”.
Five leaders are missing from the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, amid concerns over Chinese influence and growing tensions between China and Taiwan. (Source: 1News)
Wale has taken a harder line against China than his predecessor Manasseh Sogavare, who was seen as a big supporter.
1News asked Peters if he felt foreign interference had contributed to some of the leaders’ absence and he said “you’d be defying gravity and logic if you said it wasn’t a big problem”.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka also won’t be attending PIF this year. The reason given is he has some domestic engagements like the Constitution Review Commission report, which is ready this week.
The absences come as some leaders are also questioning whether the Forum is delivering enough for the region.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said there needs to be more action and less talking.
“For us I think the refocusing on deliverables rather than rehashing strategy..as a region it’s time for us to really get down to the nuts and bolts in delivering on what is a concern to Pacific Islands countries.”
Niue’s Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi agrees and said it was time to get back to basics as new issues get added without concluding or resolving past ones.
“There’s a lot of discussions throughout the years of forum meetings and I think one thing that I know that I will be asking for is the deliverables of the things that we already spoke about,” he said.
“And I know its going to be a challenge for us leaders to make those hard discussions we cant keep deferring it, it’s time to make those hard decisions,” he says.
Tagelagi said the geopolitical tension and competition needed to be talked about.
“Yes we know you’ve benefitted you’re great friends with it but let’s talk about it ..I know some people would not like some of the comments that will be made but I think when you agree to disagree it’s healthy in the sense because in the end you’ll always get you’ll resolve you’ll have a result out of that but you cant always be a winner can you,” he said.
Despite upcoming general elections New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will be attending PIF, albeit for a shorter time – arriving mid week.
The Pacific Islands Forum formally opens tonight with pressing security issues on the agenda including climate change, transnational crime, food and fuel security.
