Guest essay by Eric Worrall
According to The Strategist, Pacific Islanders are so upset about the USA’s failure to address climate change, they are switching their allegiance to China.
Inaction on climate change will undermine US engagement with Pacific islands
25 Nov 2019|Evan Karlik
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Last year, China eyed a permanent presence in Vanuatu, wary of strategic encirclement by American and allied militaries, and eager to expand its own navy’s range and basing options.
And this September, in a celebrated coup for Beijing, Solomon Islands and Kiribati each switched their diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China. Of Taipei’s remaining 15 international partners, four are Pacific island states.
Commentators see the opening moves of a global chess game between China and the US, speak of island countries falling like dominos, or even evoke the 19th-century scramble for influence in central Asia by calling this emerging dynamic the ‘Pacific Great Game’.
But an obsessive focus on diplomatic poaching or military balancing overlooks the primary concern of islanders.
In a scathing Sydney Morning Herald op-ed, Reverend James Bhagwan, general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, made clear that in the Pacific’s fragile islands, ‘nothing worries us more than climate change’.
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American diplomats should be thankful that similar acrimony hasn’t also been extended towards President Donald Trump—at least not yet.
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Beijing, to its credit, recognises the value of environmental rhetoric. In coverage of a recent economic development summit in Samoa, the state-run Xinhua news agency touted China as ‘one of the first countries to sign the Paris Agreement’ and highlighted its pledge ‘to halt the rise in carbon dioxide emissions by around 2030’.
Omitted, of course, was China’s title as the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and coal consumer, and that its carbon dioxide output grew by 4% during the first half of this year.
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Read more: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/inaction-on-climate-change-will-undermine-us-engagement-with-pacific-islands/
The Strategist acknowledges the disconnect between China’s public statements on climate change, and their headlong race towards coal powered supremacy.
But is their suggestion that climate concern is driving the shift in allegiances plausible? Are Pacific Islanders really so naive they can’t see through China’s transparent climate hypocrisy?
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No, China’s open and blatant bribery and extortion is driving corrupt government officials of Pacific Islands to embrace China.
The islands of the Pacific will sell their votes at the UN or fishing zones to the highest bidder and will follow to the place from where the greatest amount of money is coming. This is a continuation of the Cargo Cult.
If Pacific islands are inviting China to help them, it’s not because of climate change, when China is the world’s largest CO2 emitter. China might be offering them other incentives, such as selling them cheap goods produced by near-slave labor to be sold to tourists at a huge profit. The Chinese might also be looking for fishing rights around the islands.
Fishing rights. Yes. And a quasi-permanent naval presence!
Of course these island states have reason to fear climate change in the form of sea level rise.
Only need to look here:
Vanuatu: http://www.bom.gov.au/ntc/IDO70059/IDO70059SLI.pdf
Solomon Islands: http://www.bom.gov.au/ntc/IDO70061/IDO70061SLI.pdf
Kirribati: http://www.bom.gov.au/ntc/IDO70060/IDO70060SLI.pdf
Data courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the list goes on.
What do they want the rest of the world to do. Cease air and ship transport to their islands and destroy their tourism industry? Cease diesel shipments that power their electricity generators?
All they’re after is money. These countries are terribly poor. But they’re not dumb.
And they have heeded the great prophet Edenhoffer who spake thus, “We redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy.”
China gives aid to these countries in a unique way. If a community asks for aid in the form of a school (for example), China gives them a fully-finished school – built by Chinese labour and materials. What China doesn’t give them Is money for a school – which could be siphoned-off into innumerable corrupt pockets.
Foreign aid (including US aid) to 3rd world countries must be one of the greatest drivers for corruption in those countries.
We have heard a lot recently (in connection with Ukraine/Trump/Biden) about the way US aid is made conditional upon the recipient ‘cleaning up their act’ in respect of corruption. Great idea – in theory. In practice, however, it doesn’t seem to work. The problem, I suspect, might be that this condition is applied preferentially/inconsistently – i.e. the anti-corruption rule is applied rigorously and harshly to a non-preferred government, and largely overlooked where the government is one that the US ‘likes’.
“The Japanese lost a total of 24,000 men killed in the Battle of Guadalcanal, while the Americans sustained 1,600 killed, 4,200 wounded, and several thousand dead from malaria and other tropical diseases.”
Add to this British colonial troop (my Dad was one of them) casualties who came in to mop up. Over recent years peace keeping police from the same source came in to stabilise the Solomons during riots.
Does it mean anything now? You betcha. There will be repercussions. I am not an Aussie but I know well that one should not pizz them off.
M
“Claim: US Climate Inaction is Driving Pacific Islands to Embrace China”
“Truth: South Pacific Island Opportunism and Corruption is Driving an Embrace of China”
Fixed.
China doesn’t believe in Climate anything.
China believes in China.
“But is their suggestion that climate concern is driving the shift in allegiances plausible? Are Pacific Islanders really so naive they can’t see through China’s transparent climate hypocrisy? ”
You don’t get it, The Strategist is just a Washington lobby aping in Anti-Science Science bandwagon to pass a message.
“But is their suggestion that climate concern is driving the shift in allegiances plausible?”
Of course it isn’t. The writer just can’t admit that the Chinese are smarter than the Americans and offer what look to be better deals.
Money and corruption are much more likely motivators.
Can’t be about freedom, has be be about money.
”Last year, China eyed a permanent presence in Vanuatu, wary of strategic encirclement by American and allied militaries, and eager to expand its own navy’s range and basing options.”…
A US naval base in Australia may cramp their style.
Sorry forgot to provide the link.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/us-military-plans-secretive-new-305-million-naval-expansion-australia-usfpi-2019-7
Oh, I guess the contrary is true. Every country that has enjoyed the embrace of the Red Ponzi for a little while wants to get out of its clam fangs. Once the debt trap has snapped, some countries won’t be able to reimburse China and the only protection from a raging dragon might be stationing some GI’s there. Many countries will woe the US in the future.