Beijing, China has been getting restless since the recently concluded Quad Summit in Japan. This is the reason why the Chinese president is trying to get some countries to join him. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi plans to sign security and trade agreements with 10 countries. To achieve this, Wang Yi has embarked on a long tour of the Pacific island nations.
During his 10-day trip, Wang will stay in Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.
The trip comes at a time when a quad summit was held in Tokyo a few days ago in which its members were called upon to further strengthen cooperation with the Pacific island nations. Apart from India, the quad includes rich countries like Japan, Australia and America.
Australia’s newly elected government has also been active in challenging China since the Quad Summit. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in Fiji, one of the Pacific island nations, in an attempt to compare Wang’s eight-nation tour with a five-member delegation.
Chinese Foreign Minister Solomon also visited the island. It recently signed a security agreement with China, despite the difficulties of three quad members – the United States, Australia and Japan.
Some of the countries the Chinese foreign minister is touring are not far from Australia. According to analysts, Australia is trying to control China through AUKUS and Quad. Knowing this, China is trying to annex Australia’s neighbors.
Australia has sent its foreign minister Wong to Fiji as the Chinese foreign minister arrives on Monday for a hybrid summit with Pacific island nations. In a joint statement, the quad reaffirmed its support for the Pacific Regional Security Framework, which China is trying to undo through its foreign minister’s unprecedented 10-day visit.
The Australian Foreign Minister took another route, telling the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat in Fiji that his government would listen to the Pacific Islands and acknowledged that Canberra had not previously respected the Pacific’s struggle with climate change. SS2MS