June 2, 2025 | The Diplomat
At Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, China-Pacific Islands Relations Steam Ahead
While not groundbreaking, the meeting indicated steady progress towards China’s goal of a “shared future” with Pacific Island countries – including using them as strategic outposts.
June 2, 2025 | The Diplomat
At Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, China-Pacific Islands Relations Steam Ahead
While not groundbreaking, the meeting indicated steady progress towards China’s goal of a “shared future” with Pacific Island countries – including using them as strategic outposts.
Excerpt
The China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting took place in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China from May 28 to 29. All Pacific Island Countries (PICs) that don’t recognize Taiwan were in attendance.
In a traditional Pacific Islands context, the highest-ranking attendee was the crown prince of the Kingdom of Tonga, who is also Tonga’s foreign minister. This was a strong symbol to the region that relations with China are acceptable.
Cleo Paskal is a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) focusing on the Indo-Pacific region, in particular, the Pacific Islands and India.