addressing the future of traditional and non-traditional security in the pacific islands

7/18/2019 Addressing the Future of Traditional and Non-Traditional Security in the Pacific Islands

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Pacific Islands Society

PO Box 632 | Ebensburg, PA 15931 | USA

843.271.6891 ph pacificislandssociety.org webDomestic Non-Profit Organization

Addressing the Future of

Traditional and Non-TraditionalSecurity in the Pacific IslandsBy H.E. Solo Mara

Published: March 6, 2013

I am pleased to speak to you this evening onthe future of traditional and non-traditionalsecurity in the Pacific Islands. I am sure that

many of you are familiar with the Pacific Islandsregion; few in the general population knowmuch more than the information featured intourism literature, and many from outside myregion have no desire to look much furtherbeyond those images of tropical idyll.

However, with fourteen votes in the UN and richmarine resources, the Pacific region has a voiceon the global stage. A voice that is beginning tobe recognised, first in the name change of theUN Asian Group to Asia-Pacific and Fiji’scurrent Chairmanship of the G77+China. Its

internal security - and international security - isof growing interest outside the region; toscholars, such as yourselves, to politicians, andto business. Some commentators havesuggested that the Pacific Islands region is anew geo-strategic political pitch for the super-powers, particularly China and the UnitedStates.

A Snapshot of the Region

The Pacific Island region is defined by morethan the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean;there is a rich bio-diversity of fish stock, anduntapped underwater mineral deposits. Thesmall Pacific Island Countries vary greatly interms of natural resources and population; thetotal population of the region is relatively small.

The region’s total population is about 7 millioand half of these are in PNG.

Selected statistics will give you a snapshot othe Pacific Islands region. First, the combinetotal land area of the 14 Pacific Island Countrie[PICs], namely Cook Is., Federated States oMicronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, PalaPNG, Marshall Is., Samoa, Solomon Is., TongaTuvalu and Vanuatu, is 526,724 sq km [which bigger than Spain, and a little smaller thaFrance].

One of the most significant assets of the PacifIsland Countries is the size of their combineExclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ - whicamounts to 19,927,900 km2. This is slightgreater than the combined landmass of thUSA and Canada. The World Bank’s statisticsuggest that this important asset is not beinused to its full potential however, as the totcombined GDP value of the 14 PICs is US$ 2billion. In contrast, New Zealand’s GDP, at US142.48 bn, is 7 times bigger. The moprosperous Pacific Island Country, measured

GDP per capita, is Palau, at US$ 8,730; whilsthe least prosperous is the Solomon Islands US$ 1,517.

His Excellency Solo Mara is the Hig

Commissioner from the Republic of Fi

to the United Kingdom

Ambassador Series



Pacific Islands Society Ambassador Series | March 6, 2013

and in health to support economic growth. Thereactions of development partners to internalsecurity issues have varied widely, and this hashad an impact on donor relations with PacificIsland Countries.

Traditional security threats described above arebeing managed by the Pacific Island Countrieswithin existing regional infrastructure, whichincludes several regional agencies. Given theregion’s geopolitical importance, many donorcountries are also involved in regionaldiscussions of and management of securitythreats.

The regional security framework, which wasdeveloped by the region’s leaders as part of themandate of the Pacific Islands Forum, and hasbeen revised and enlarged over time, was

primarily designed to ensure the cooperation ofnational law enforcement authorities with eachother and to ensure a standard regionalapproach to security activities.

Significant security instruments, all of whichcontinue to be used as the basis fordiscussions and decisions of a regional nature,include the 1992 Honiara Declaration on LawEnforcement Cooperation, the 1997 AitutakiDeclaration on Regional Security Cooperation,the 2000 Biketawa Declaration, which relates toregional crisis management and conflictresolution initiatives.

Non Traditional Security Threats

It is crucial however to consider other new andemerging threats to security; these are thethreats that occupy the thinking of your peers inthe South Pacific. Non-traditional securityissues, the most prominent of which is ClimateChange, are dominating the agenda ofgovernments of the Pacific Island region;resources are being spread thinly- perhaps too

thinly- according to need.The priority security issue in most Pacific Islandcountries now is human security. The mostprominent amongst these is the impacts ofClimate Change on the continuing existence ofPacific Island societies in their current form and

environment. Climate change threatens humasecurity in the Pacific now- not in the next fedecades, or ten years, but now.

Society and livelihoods are under threat, threat that is so large and seeming

interminable that it is proving extremely difficuto manage. However, there are other threats thuman security that are also competing for thattention and very limited funds available tPacific Island governments.

Climate Change

Pacific island countries are bearing the brunt othe impacts of Climate Change. The tidsurges that are engulfing atoll nations such aKiribati and Tuvalu are having an immediatimpact on their livelihoods. Climate change w

continue to impact on all aspects of Pacific life the health of the oceans, including acidificatioand cleanliness, and the availability of fish the sea; changing patterns of agriculturproduction and access to fresh water; anrising sea levels.

The region is acting collectively to effectivemake its voice heard by the internationcommunity. But it will certainly need the suppoof- and funding from- the internationcommunity to find ways to adapt to the impactof climate change. I applaude the EU for havinprovided eight million euros for a five-yearesearch and adaptation project, working fourteen countries, to conduct research oClimate Change, equip communities witknowledge and practical tools for adaptatioand train young Pacific Islanders tpostgraduate level, so that the region has thhuman resourced required to formulateffective and enlightened policies.

The PSIDS Group in New York attempted, withe support of some EU countries, to plac

Climate Change on the agenda of the UNSC 2012, but failed due to strong lobbying frosome members of the UNSC.




Fisheries

Further impact of Climate Change is alsoevident on the fisheries resources that in someinstances provide the only income to someisland countries. Changes in sea temperatures

have been reported to have forced themigration of marine life away from its naturalgrounds and have negatively impacted thegrowth and development of many marinecreatures.

Given the huge EEZ of the Pacific Island region,illegal, unreported and unregulated fishingfleets are taking much-needed income from theregion and are also proved to be linked to othertraditional security threats, such as peoplesmuggling and drugs and weapons trafficking.

Health – HIV/AIDS and NCDs

Another relevant non-traditional security issuefor the PICs can be found in the Health Sector.The spread of HIV and the rising incidence ofNCDs, such as diabetes and strokes, are twothreats to human security that are of increasingconcern to Pacific Island Countries. Thesefeature very prominently on governmentagendas primarily because very limited fundsmust be diverted to address these issues, bothof which have a sustained negative impact onproductive labour resources.

Who Determines Which Security Threats

are Addressed?

It is clear that the variety of threats to security isstaggering. And resources are limited- I refernot just to limited funds, but to limited humanresources to implement policies and carry outprojects. Pacific Islands need to have the spaceand support to prioritize for themselves whichsecurity issue in their own region need to beaddressed.

Pacific Islanders have their own view of securitythreats and needs; their development partners,interested neighbours, and metropolitan powersinterested in the region have another. LikeJapan’s renewable [solar] energy assistanceprogramme currently being rolled out in rural

Pacific communities. As much as is possiblethere needs to be a meeting of the minds tdeliver outcomes that will benefit the humasecurity of Pacific Islanders whilst supporting stable and crime-free region.

The regional security agenda has changed ovetime. An examination of the regional securiagenda discussed within regional organisationlike the Pacific Islands Forum some ten yeaago reveals that issues such as thdevelopment of legislation on aviation anmaritime security, law and order training anthe ratification and implementation ointernational and regional human rights ansecurity related conventions dominated thagendas.

Whilst these may have been important to som

developed members like Australia and NZ, thedid not necessarily address the developmeneeds of the PICs. This often led to accusationbeing levelled against Australia and NZ, ansuggestions that they pursued a self-servinsecurity agenda with relation to the PacifIsland countries. The example of AustraliaPacific Solution to the issue of the illegal “bopeople” migration from Indonesia comes tmind.

More recent discussions on regional securitvary considerably in their focus. Non-traditionsecurity issues, such as Climate Change, arstill being viewed from the perception of thmetropolitan powers, however, and do naddress the needs of the Pacific Islands. Theris a general perception, amongst Pacific Islanpeoples, that their immediate developmeneeds are not being addressed in favour olonger-term human security issues. There growing dissatisfaction over the lack infrastructural development and the provision obasic public services like health, wateeducation.

And when one adds growing unemploymefigures, rising costs of food and thecorresponding negative impacts on livinstandards, the result can be worrying. The 200riots in Tonga and Solomon Islands were said tbe indicative of the growing frustrations of th




population with the lack of tangible benefitsfrom development on the islands.It is a common assumption that, in this day ofglobalisation and modern informationtechnology, we share the same understandingof important issues like security. This is believed

to be particularly true when we are speaking interms of geographical proximity. That is acommon misconception- there is a markeddifference in viewpoints between the PICs andits more affluent Pacific neighbours. Thismisconception often leads to the“misunderstandings” that have marred thepartnerships between the PICs andneighbouring metropolitan powers. Some haveeven argued that it has led to increasingengagement with China, India, Indonesia, andMalaysia.

How Security Concerns have

Contributed to the Pacific’s Closer

Relations with China

To most Pacific Island leaders, adopting a“Look North” policy anchored on improved andcloser relations with China was an inevitableprogression. PICs have for years been warnedby metropolitan neighbours of China’s“questionable security intent” in the region.

However, after three decades of interacting withthe Chinese leadership, marked by high levelvisits to China by Pacific Island leaders, PacificIsland Countries have come to recognise inChina a valuable and sincere developmentpartner. The then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaovisited Fiji in 2006 and held a meeting with 10other PICs leaders in a development-focusedmeeting aimed at strengthening the “China-PICs Cooperative Partnership” in all sectors ofdevelopment.

China stepped in when other westerndevelopment partners, such as the US and the

UK, withdrew. Australia did not adequately fillthe vacuum that was created- or one can saythat they did not do it as effectively as theChinese.

The increasing involvement of both China andthe US in the region is hard to ignore. It seems

that Washington has ramped up its presencand involvement in response to Chinaincreasing activities and influence. Thattendance of the US Secretary of State at thPIF Leaders Meeting in 2012- never before hasuch a high-ranking American official visited th

region- was a clear confirmation Washington’s realization that it must be morinvolved in the Pacific Islands or risk losing iinfluence entirely. It is interesting that MrClinton was beaten to the islands by a multitudof senior Chinese Government officialincluding Xi Jinping, who will assume Chinapresidency this month.

To Pacific Islanders this renewed interest by thUS is welcomed. China is also a valuab“development partner” that has demonstrateits active support in addressing non-tradition

security issues. Access to the Chinese EximBank loans is providing much needeinfrastructure development for economdevelopment in the islands. And China trading more with the region and contributing teconomic growth in the process.

But one lesson that the PICs have learnt from iengagement with China, India, Indonesia in i“look north policy” is the importance of the worpartnership. Particularly, partnership based omutual respect, which was evidently lacking athe 2007 meeting of Pacific Island leaders witthe than US Secretary of State , MCondoleezza Rice in Washington, where shwas reported “to have appeared only for a 1minutes photo opportunity” with Pacific Islanleaders who have travelled thousands of milefor that meeting. The changes in five yearsfrom that photo opportunity to Mrs Clinton’s trto Rarotonga- are quite remarkable.

Conclusion

Bridging the difference in the perception o

security threats is fundamental to effectiveensuring the future security of the PacifIslands. The Pacific Islands region must accepthat the interests of its donors and superpowewill at times dictate what security activities theprioritize and fund. However, interested foreig“development partners” must engage from




Pacific Islands Society

PO Box 632 | Ebensburg, PA 15931 | USA

843.271.6891 ph pacificislandssociety.org web

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position of respect and understanding withPacific Island Countries, and realize that theywill always need to prioritize human security, aslimited funds mean that the most pressingissues must be addressed. Once Westerncountries understand this, they will understand

why the Pacific Islands have sought closer tieswith Asia in their pursuit of “security” in thePacific Island sense.

The Pacific Islands region will do well to engageproductively with both superpowers. The USand China to Pacific Islanders represent the twosides of the same coin. And the Pacific Islandregion geographically is big enough toaccommodate all of our development partnersincluding the EU. It is in everyone’s interests tosafeguard fisheries, limit and manage theimpacts of Climate Change, and reduce

transnational crime.

Improved health and educational outcomes,which can be supported with foreign aid, willcontribute to socioeconomic stability in theisland countries. This stability is what allinvolved wish to see.

One thing is indisputable. To Pacific Islanders,Climate Change is not a distant concept or anemerging threat. It is a threat today; whenvillagers have no fresh water because it has notrained for months, when they cannot plantbecause the soil has too much salt, when roadsare washed away by “King tides”, they seeClimate Change. It is the greatest threat tohuman security in the Pacific. So China and theUS can jostle for position, and fund securityinitiatives and development projects, but thebiggest contribution they can make to securityin the region is to acknowledge their own role inand responsibility for Climate Change. They canhelp Pacific Islanders, who are most affected-and who are affected now.

The views expressed are those of the author.

addressing the future of traditional and non-traditional security in the pacific islands

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