![]() ![]() ![]() Beijing has continued to lobby for a bigger role in the region, after failing to sign 10 nations to a security and trade deal. of being seen as " fly over" countries.Ĭhina last year struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands, where a Chinese state company will rebuild the international port. But leaders there had complained to the U.S. The Pacific islands span 40 million square km of ocean, where vital sea lanes and submarine cables link the United States to its allies Australia and Japan. China turns up all the time, and so the optics aren't great," he said.Ĭhinese President Xi Jinping has visited the region three times, including a 2018 visit to Papua New Guinea. "The mantra in the region is all about turning up. Richard Maude, a former Australian intelligence chief now with the Asia Society Policy Institute said the cancellation could be a setback for relations. Some opposition party politicians have criticized the pact as potentially upsetting China, a major infrastructure donor. He made no public comment about Biden's cancellation. Coast Guard vessels to patrol its waters. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said this week his government was preparing to sign a major defense pact with the United States and a security agreement allowing U.S. the benefit of the doubt over its ability to re-engage."īiden's decision recalled President Barack Obama's cancellation of a trip to attend two summits in Asia in 2013 because of a U.S. "Up until now Pacific islands leaders have been giving the U.S. credibility in the region as a consistent partner." "For Papua New Guinea this was a very big deal and they will be disappointed," said Mihai Sora, a Pacific islands analyst with Sydney's Lowy Institute think tank, calling it a "blow to U.S. The stop in Papua New Guinea, a nation of 9 million north of Australia, had been viewed as a major step to build trust in a region where China has sought a greater security presence. He had been due to meet in Sydney with leaders of the other countries of the Quad grouping - Australia, Japan and India - but they will now talk in Japan. debt ceiling - an issue with the potential to damage the global economy - prompted Biden to postpone visits to both Papua New Guinea and Australia to allow him to return earlier to Washington. "But they are also very mindful of the fact that this President has done more in terms of his personal engagement with the Pacific islands than any previous president." DEBT CEILING "They're obviously disappointed that the President will not be the first ever President of the United States to go to Papua New Guinea," Sullivan said. Biden had been scheduled to meet 18 Pacific island leaders there. president, and the island nation had declared a public holiday in his honor. His three-hour stop in Port Moresby next Monday would have been a first there by a sitting U.S. Sullivan said the summit had yet to scheduled, "but we will get it on the books, so that we continue the progress with the Pacific Islands."īiden hosted an unprecedented summit of Pacific island leaders last year. "Within this calendar year, you will see the president convening the leaders of the Pacific islands for a major summit, which will be the second time in 12 months he has done that," Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One. saw the "demand signal for the United States only growing for the Pacific islands." credibility in the Pacific island region, where Washington is competing with China for influence.Īsked en route with Biden to Japan whether the decision to cancel gave Beijing an advantage, Jake Sullivan, the president's senior security adviser, said the U.S. Political analysts said Biden's cancellation of the short visit to Port Moresby planned for next Monday after a G7 summit in Japan had dealt a blow to U.S. ![]() President Joe Biden will arrange another summit of Pacific island leaders this year after the disappointment caused by his cancellation of a visit to Papua New Guinea due to the domestic debt ceiling crisis, his national security adviser said on Wednesday. ![]()
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