US President Joe Biden is the first sitting US president to visit Papua New Guinea, a small island nation in the South Pacific, at the end of this month. When China signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, neighboring Papua New Guinea and Australia in April of last year, and expressed its intention to build a military base there, the U.S. began to contain it. The competition between China, which is trying to expand its influence in all directions, including the Indo-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and South America, and the United States, which is trying not to lose its hegemony, is intensifying.
According to the White House on the 9th, President Biden decided to meet with the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member states in Papua New Guinea after attending the G7 summit held in Hiroshima, Japan on the 19th and 21st. PIF is a cooperative body in which 18 countries in the South Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, participated.
The White House did not disclose the specific date of President Biden’s visit. However, given the fact that he will attend the quad summit of the United States, Australia, Japan and India, which will be held in Sydney, Australia on the 24th, the date of his visit to Papua New Guinea is likely to be the 22nd and 23rd. White House spokeswoman Carine Jean-Pierre added meaning that “the president’s visit this time will further strengthen the partnership between the United States and South Pacific countries.”
After concluding a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, China attempted to sign additional security agreements with nine countries in the South Pacific. However, the PIF rejected China’s proposal in July of last year, saying, “We will not be enemies with anyone.” Two months later, President Biden invited the heads of major South Pacific countries to Washington, the capital, and set a ‘counter fire’ against China.
The United States is making efforts in the South Pacific by opening embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga in February this year and on the 9th of this month, respectively. We are also discussing opening embassies with Vanuatu and Kiribati.
I am interested in what remarks President Biden will make in Australia. Australia is a key US ally and is actively participating in the Biden administration’s strategy to contain China. Australia released its first new defense strategy report in 35 years last month, pointing out that “China has built its largest military force since World War II and is engaging in strategic competition with Australia’s closest neighbor.”
The United States and China are also fighting a war of nerves over Taiwan’s participation in the annual meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO). US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln put pressure on China in a statement on the 9th, saying, “The WHO should invite Taiwan as an ‘observer’ to the meeting to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on the 21st and 30th.” WHO is conscious of China’s insistence on ‘one China’ and does not recognize Taiwan as a member country.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.