JAKARTA - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday urged the Pacific region not to be "too anxious" about his country's goals, after a meeting with his counterparts from the region's 10 island nations postponed consideration of a broad trade and security communique.
Foreign Minister Wang hosted a video meeting with foreign ministers from Pacific island nations with whom China has diplomatic ties, amid a tour of a region where Beijing's ambitions for broader security ties have raised concerns among US allies.
The draft communique and five-year action plan sent by China to invited countries ahead of the meeting suggest China is seeking broad regional trade and security deals.
But the draft communique, first reported by Reuters, has sparked opposition from at least one of the invited countries, the Federated States of Micronesia, according to a letter leaked last week. Meanwhile, other countries want it changed or the decision delayed, an official from one Pacific nation told Reuters before the meeting.
After the meeting, which included Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Niue, and Vanuatu, Foreign Minister Wang said further discussions were needed to form more consensus.
"China will release its own position paper on our positions and propositions and proposals for cooperation with Pacific island countries, and going forward we will continue to have ongoing and in-depth discussions and consultations to form more consensus on cooperation", he told reporters in Fiji, reported Reuters on May 30.
Foreign Minister Wang further said that some people question China's motives for being so active in the Pacific islands, and the response is that China supports developing countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean as well.
"Don't be too anxious and don't be too nervous, because the shared development and prosperity of China and all other developing countries, will only mean greater harmony, greater justice, and greater progress for the whole world", he said.
Meanwhile, China's Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo said when answering questions after the briefing, the participants had agreed to discuss the draft communique and a five-year plan "until a mutual agreement is reached."
"There is general support from the 10 countries we have diplomatic relations with, but of course, there are some concerns about some specific issues", he said.
He did not identify an area of concern. The draft of the broad communique has proposed security exchanges, cybersecurity cooperation, training of Chinese police, and a free trade zone in the region, where US ally Australia has been the biggest aid donor and traditional security partner.
Separately, Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Henry Puna, urged China at the meeting to focus more on regional priorities, namely climate change, and COVID-19 recovery according to agreed mechanisms.
It is the main grouping of the region, with 18 members including countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan and not Beijing.
Two countries allied with Taiwan, Palau and Tuvalu, recently said they feared the Pacific islands would become pawns in the superpower rivalry.
"We are all acutely aware of the increasing intensity of geopolitical maneuvering in our region today. Indeed, the influx of recent high-level visits to our Blue Pacific demonstrates the increasing value our partners, including China, must place on our collective ability to think, live, engage and deliver", Puna said at the meeting, according to the statement.
Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told reporters after the meeting, that Pacific nations prioritized consensus.
"Geopolitical point assessments are of little value to anyone whose community is slipping beneath rising sea levels, whose jobs have been lost due to the pandemic, or whose families have been impacted by the rapid rise in commodity prices", Bainimarama said.
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The United States, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand have expressed concern about the security pact the Solomon Islands signed with China last month.
They say it has regional consequences and could lead to a Chinese military presence near Australia and in strategic positions in Australia. Pacific.
In Honiara last week, Foreign Minister Wang condemned interference in the deal and said the Solomon Islands' relationship with China was a model for other Pacific island nations.
It is planned that Foreign Minister Wang will travel to the South Pacific kingdom of Tonga for a two-day visit on Tuesday.
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