We Say

Friends and foes in a new frontier

INDIA’S forum for Pacific leaders in Jaipur last month came at an opportune time for regional heads of government and pre-empted their meeting in Port Moresby. Held just over a year after Narendra Modi’s whirlwind tour of the Pacific, the talks set a perfect platform to address the critical matters of climate change, security, development and self-determination.

There can be little doubt that India sees itself as a major player, indeed an emerging global power, in the world of geopolitics. It has set its sights on a seat in the United Nations Security Council and Fiji’s Rear-Admiral Frank Bainimarama has publicly expressed his country’s support for India. At the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation, Modi openly courted leaders: “Your support for India’s permanent membership of the Security Council will give the United Nations the global character and balance that mirrors our age.”

In return he promised to support the bid for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to have a dedicated seat in a larger Security Council. Behind this international quid pro quo is of course the battle of supremacy for the Pacific Ocean and its vast resources. China has labelled the Pacific as the New Silk Route, referring to the wealth of fish stocks in the ocean, the possible mineral resources on its floor, the food and timber throughout the region and the extractable riches beneath the ground. With Indonesia and some of the Gulf states, China has promised to fund the Pacific Islands Development Forum which meets in Suva, Fiji this month.

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• We Say is compiled with the oversight of the editor on editor@islandsbusiness.com