Lauren
Crimp Political reporter
Foreign Minister Winston
Peters says the Pacific missed an opportunity not to issue a
joint statement soon after China launched a nuclear-capable
missile into waters near Tuvalu.
It’s unclear whether
a consensus will be reached at today’s Pacific
Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, with
Peters labelling it a “delicate issue”.
Peters is in
Fiji for the meeting along with counterparts from 17 other
Pacific countries, in preparation for the leaders’ meeting
in Palau, in early September.
It’s been a month since
China
test-launched a nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a
dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean – a nuclear free
zone.
It was met with condemnation
from some Pacific leaders, and Christopher Luxon said
the New Zealand government made clear to China that the move
was unacceptable – but there has not been a unanimous
statement from Pacific nations.
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Peters said New
Zealand had been pushing for one.
“It’s a very
delicate issue,” he said, suggesting some countries would
come to the meeting with their minds made up.
“The
roadblock is that if you’ve had a predetermined position,
any discussion here and any logic and reasoning will not
land,” he said.
“We’ll see whether logic prevails in
this debate, or whether the debate has already been settled
by people having a predetermined position from which they
will not move.”
Peters
would not name the countries he believed were holding things
back.
He said it was not too late to take a joint
position however it should have been done sooner: “the
sooner the better.”
The countries should not be in a
position where they could not reach consensus on the matter,
said Peters.
“At this point in time, we’ve got one
third of the world’s surface, there’s a desperation for
serious funds when it comes to resilience building in this
part of the world,” he said.
“The economic situation
is not good, so we need each other more than ever, and we
need international recognition as well more than
ever.”
Peters had a brief discussion with Australia’s
foreign minister Penny Wong on Friday morning ahead of the
meeting, but would not say whether the two countries were on
the same page.
He said there would also be discussion
about how partner countries work with PIF following the
controversial decision to ban them – including heavy hitters
like China and the US – from last year’s meeting in the
Solomon Islands.
Peters has spoken out repeatedly
about “outsiders” influencing the Solomon Islands Prime
Minister Jeremiah Manele to implement the ban, which Manele
denied, arguing the block made sense while PIF leaders
considered how best to respond to the increasing interest
from partners wanting a seat at the regional decision-making
table.
“We need their help,” Peters said.
“This
idea of tiering people and all sorts of this part of the
discussion, if it means that you actually lose the chance
for buy-in by serious countries, then that’ll be a big
mistake.”
Fiji’s foreign minister Sakiasi Ditoka
opened the meeting with a call for unity.
“Even as our
strategic environment becomes more complex, the Pacific
response should not be fragmentation or division,” he said,
as the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Minister’s meeting
kicked off.
“It should be greater regional solidarity,
stronger consensus and continued confidence in our own
regional institutions and processes.”
He said the
foreign ministers had a “unique responsibility,” helping to
shape how the Pacific “engages the world, manages these
partnerships, and protects the integrity of our regional
institutions”.
Ditoka said the matters before the
forum reflect that responsibility, from “strengthening our
peace and security architecture”, to advancing the 2050
“international engagement strategy” and “deepening regional
integration”.
He also stated it was about “ensuring
our partnerships continue to serve Pacific
priorities”.
“Together they represent practical steps
towards implementing the vision set out in the 2050 strategy
for the blue Pacific continent.”
The secretary general
Baron Waqa followed, saying guidance from the foreign
ministers would continue to shape the evolution of
regionalism and the “trajectory of regional
institutions”.
For his part, he said, “allow me to
reaffirm that the secretariat remains committed to
supporting a forum that is increasingly strategic” and
responsible.
“One that is able to anticipate emerging
challenges, coordinate regional action, and deliver
effectively on the priorities set by
leaders.”
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