In early July, China test-fired a long-range nuclear-capable missile into the South Pacific, reportedly travelling around 7,000 kilometers and causing outrage among nations in the Pacific region. The launch heightened concern over growing geopolitical competition, military activity and external influence, including fears that China might seek to establish a military base in Vanuatu. Critics have also accused China of using “debt-trap” diplomacy through large loans under its Belt and Road Initiative, potentially leaving recipient countries under pressure to offer concessions or facilities in return for debt relief.
The missile test also cast a shadow over the idea of the Pacific as an “Ocean of Peace,” an aspiration associated in particular with the Veitacini Treaty, a new mutual defence pact between Fiji and Australia. Alongside Australia’s recent security agreements with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, and calls from the Solomon Islands for a region-wide security arrangement, the treaty raises the question whether Pacific security should develop mainly through bilateral agreements, or through a regional framework under Pacific Islands Forum leadership.
The Pacific Islands Forum is the main political body for regional cooperation in the Pacific. It brings together sixteen Pacific states as well as Australia and New Zealand to develop common positions and coordinate action on shared challenges.
At the upcoming 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting which starts at the end of August, leaders will discuss implementation of the “2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent” agreed on four years ago. This long-term regional framework covers political leadership and regionalism, people-centred development, peace and security, resource and economic development, climate change and disasters, the ocean and environment, and technology and connectivity. Its overall vision statement declares:
“Our Pacific Vision is for a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, so that all Pacific people can lead free, healthy, and productive lives.”
Arguably, the attainment of these objectives is the function of government. Since many of the Pacific’s most urgent challenges are cross-border and regional in nature, strengthened democratic regional governance will be required if this vision is to be realised.
The formation of a Pacific Islands Community
We can imagine a possible future path for the region leading all the way to a Pacific Union, or even a full Pacific Federation. These developments will only occur decades into the future, if they occur at all. But the immediate next step seems clear, namely the formation of a Pacific Islands Community, as an extension of the present Forum. This would be distinct from the presently-existing Pacific Community, which is primarily an organization acting as a conduit for funding of development projects from donor nations to the island states.
The basic elements of a Pacific Islands Community are easily foreseen, and several are already in place, as discussed in the Pacific Plan of 2007. The Forum already plays the role of a supreme Council, meeting periodically to discuss major policy decisions that require consensus among member states, as at present. A Council of Ministers should be formally established, consisting of ministers from each member state in areas such as fisheries or climate, to discuss functional issues and formulate policy proposals for consideration by the supreme Council. The PIF Secretariat already fills the role of executive for the foreshadowed Community.
The Pacific Plan also proposed a Forum Parliamentary Assembly as an enlargement of the present Forum Presiding Officers Conference, to meet once a year. The Assembly would be a democratic voice within the Community, and could indeed provide the nucleus of a democratically elected Pacific Islands Parliament in the longer term. The longer-term aim of a Pacific Parliament was already outlined more than forty years ago by Mike Moore, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
A Pacific Islands Court could be set up to hear cases involving treaties between member states on the basis of international law, and might eventually form the nucleus of a Pacific legal system. Since cases would probably be few at first, a reserve panel of judges could be appointed at fairly minimal cost.
There is also an obvious need for mechanisms of regional common security. A Pacific Islands Maritime Patrol is needed to combat illegal fishing, piracy, drug smuggling and similar problems. The existing Pacific Maritime Security Program, under Australian control, essentially fills this role already. It should be placed under the control of the new Community. A land-based security force, perhaps a Pacific Islands Regiment, is needed to carry out peacekeeping duties both within and outside the region, and if necessary to intervene in extra-constitutional crises. It could also provide a significant source of employment for some of the smaller islands.
A Pacific Islands Community would not create a Pacific Union or Federation overnight. But it would signpost the way towards a democratic system of regional governance capable of fulfilling the aim of a Pacific region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, as set out in the 2050 vision. It would also offer another example of how democratic integration beyond the nation-state can help citizens and governments better shape decisions that affect their common future.
This article summarizes a submission of the World Citizens Association (Australia) to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade of the Australian Parliament which can be downloaded here
