China roils the Pacific waters courtesy Australia and New Zealand

China's role in the region is a constant pressure in one direction. New Zealand and Australian policies towards the region have been naive at best, and the situation was worsened by U.S. State Department following Canberra and Wellington's lead.

- CLEO PASKAL

This past week flights were diverted between Australia and New Zealand to avoid Chinese military live fire exercises; three Chinese military ships sailed within 277 kilometers of Sydney; and the Cook Islands and China agreed to an "Action Plan 2025-2030 for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Cook Islands and the People's Republic of China".

None of this was a surprise. China's goals in the region were made clear in its "China Pacific Islands Common Development Vision" (and supporting "Five Year Plan") documents.

The goals are barely post-colonial and aim to undermine Pacific Islands' sovereignty, then bring them under Beijing's control. This is an essential step to, at least, neutralize Australia and New Zealand.

China's role in the region is a constant pressure in one direction. The question is, how to respond?

I can tell you how not to respond: the way it's been done until now. New Zealand and Australian policies towards the region have been naive at best, and the situation was worsened by U.S. State Department following Canberra and Wellington's lead.

A foundational issue is "what is a country" and, by extension, who has the right to sign nation-to-nation strategic agreements. The Pacific Islands region has a wide range of political arrangements, including the fitful French colony of New Caledonia and the independent countries in Free Association with the United States (Palau, Federated States of Micronesia and Marshall Islands).

Increasingly many of the hard-fought battles of the decolonization period have been forgotten and undermined as the meaning of sovereignty is blurred.

SOVEREIGNTY BY PRESS RELEASE