Razed buildings in Honiara, Solomon Islands, April 2006.

Much of the debate about China’s rise in Oceania focuses on strategic considerations. Will Oceania become an arena of strategic competition between the US and China? How will China’s rise affect the interests of longstanding Pacific players, such as the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan? But what about the impact on Pacific islands themselves? Beijing’s engagement, and the activities of migrant Chinese, is exacerbating poor governance and corruption, fanning the embers of instability, and depleting natural resources.

Exacerbating poor governance and corruption

Most Pacific islanders live in villages, close to the land and the sea, or retain ties to village life. They are resilient and able to cope with hard times. But their governments are often fragile and characterized by poor governance and corruption.

Lavish aid, provided by China and Taiwan as part of their diplomatic rivalry, exacerbates these problems. Aid money is siphoned by corrupt politicians and officials. It perpetuates reliance on outsiders. The ‘no strings attached’ nature of the aid undermines domestic and international efforts to promote effective administration.

Fanning instability

The China-Taiwan rivalry is playing out in domestic politics, with Beijing and Taipei bribing and bankrolling politicians. Consequently, politics in some countries are becoming more corrupt. After the April 2006 elections in Solomon Islands, politicians were bribed to support pro-Taiwan or pro-China camps. Rioting in Honiara was partly sparked by popular anger about politicians being bought by Asian money.

The influx of Chinese migrants to Oceania is also feeding instability. Chinese increasingly dominate the business sector, and this is resented by locals. During unrest in Solomon Islands and Tonga in 2006, Chinese businesses were targeted by looters. The situation was particularly serious in Honiara, where the Chinatown was razed and Chinese residents fled the country. And Triads have infiltrated Pacific capitals, trading in drugs, weapons and people, and using the islands as transhipment points to Auckland, Sydney, Los Angeles and Vancouver.

Depleting natural resources

Pacific governments have an abysmal record of protecting their natural resources – principally timber, fisheries, and minerals. Typically, weak governments allow foreign companies to pillage resources, in the process destroying forests and polluting waterways and seas.

China is engaged in a global search for natural resources, and this encompasses Oceania. A Chinese corporation is building a large nickel mine in Papua New Guinea (possibly the first of a number), and Chinese fishing fleets are hammering the Pacific’s fisheries. Unless checked, China’s activities will further deplete Oceania’s resources, degrade the environment, and deprive Pacific islanders of their livelihood.

Unintended consequences?

China’s military involvement in Oceania has so far been low key. This could change quickly. One scenario is that Beijing dispatches troops to protect Chinese nationals caught up in civil unrest. And, as I noted in Dark Side of Paradise, large mines are a major source of conflict in Melanesia. Threats to Chinese mining operations from landowners could see Beijing deploy soldiers as ‘security guards’, or provide Pacific armies with ‘military advisers’. The instability that Beijing is fanning could inadvertently trigger Chinese military intervention.

[This post has been brought to you by the strategist as a part of our ongoing series on Oceania — YH]

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