{"id":39396,"date":"2018-05-18T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T22:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=39396"},"modified":"2018-05-18T09:09:55","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T23:09:55","slug":"slow-and-steady-wins-the-race-japan-and-the-pacific-island-leaders-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/slow-and-steady-wins-the-race-japan-and-the-pacific-island-leaders-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow and steady wins the race\u2014Japan and the Pacific Island Leaders\u2019 Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Japan, like many countries, has strong strategic interests in the Pacific. But unlike many countries, Japan hosts a forum every three years with the leaders of the 14\u00a0Pacific Island countries (PICs), as well as ministerial representatives from Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

The Pacific Island Leaders Meetings<\/a> have been a key part of Japan\u2019s Pacific strategy since 1997. The eighth meeting (PALM8) begins today in Fukushima. Its theme: \u2018We Are Islanders\u2014Partnerships Towards Prosperous, Free and Open Pacific\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PALM meetings don\u2019t usually attract a lot of attention, but this year may differ given the increased interest in the Pacific. There\u2019s a sharper focus on China\u2019s assertive foreign policy in the region, from island building in the South China Sea to its so-called \u2018debt-trap diplomacy<\/a>\u2019, including in the Pacific. China has promised much-needed infrastructure projects in countries such as Tonga<\/a>, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Philippines<\/a>. Now many counties are indebted to China and it\u2019s unclear how they\u2019ll be able to pay back the loans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s engagement in the region isn\u2019t new. It has been deeply engaged in the Pacific<\/a> and has strong bilateral relations with many PICs. Japan provides 10%\u00a0of all overseas development aid (ODA) that PICS receive. That makes it the third-largest aid donor to Oceania<\/a>, behind only Australia\u2014which provides 44%\u00a0of all ODA\u2014and New Zealand (14%). At the end of each PALM meeting Japan announces a cooperation package for the next three years that amounts to approximately \u00a550\u00a0billion (roughly US$500\u00a0million).<\/p>\n

Japan also provides infrastructure development, as seen by the Philippines\u2019 project \u2018to build subways in Manila and improve rivers in Davao City\u2019<\/a>, the construction of a highway in the Solomon Islands<\/a>, the installation of a wind-power generation system in Tonga<\/a> and the building of roads and bridges\u2014among other projects\u2014in Papua New Guinea<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Previous PALM meetings drew on Japan\u2019s shared identity with PICs as island nations<\/a>, as well as their shared interests in preserving and managing marine resources. At PALM5 in\u00a02009, for example, they created the Pacific Environment Community Fund<\/a> to find \u2018practical Pacific-specific approaches\u2019 to combating climate change. This led to a commitment at PALM7 to build a Pacific Climate Change Centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Because climate change poses an existential threat to island nations, the participants have adopted other mitigation measures. After PALM7, Japan and PICs also initiated the Pacific Leaders\u2019 Educational Assistance for Development of State<\/a> to increase cooperation in priority areas, including disaster risk reduction, climate change and the environment. That led to the Hybrid Island Project\u2014Smart Energy Integration for Resilient Islands<\/a> that will introduce renewable energy technologies into the energy systems of five PICs that currently rely on diesel.<\/p>\n

Japan has also been a strong advocate for self-sustained development. To that end, it provides capacity building and training. At PALM7, Japan outlined a plan to focus on capacity building and technology transfer<\/a>, for example by offering exchanges for some 4,000\u00a0people from PICs. Trade<\/a> also features prominently in the discussions.<\/p>\n

Such exchanges fulfil another of Japan\u2019s diplomatic objectives: PALMs\u00a0 are an important platform for Japan to promote values that are fundamental to its interests, such as sustainability, transparency and freedom of maritime passage. All of that fits within the rubric of Japan\u2019s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given concerns about China\u2019s engagement in the Pacific<\/a>, PALM8 will be an opportunity for Japan and the PICs to continue to promote values such as freedom of maritime passage, rule of law, peace and security, and transparency.<\/p>\n

We can expect topics such as maritime assistance, maritime law enforcement measures, fisheries resource management, independent and sustainable development, and people-to-people exchanges to be on the agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This consistency in PALM topics to date shows that Japan\u2019s Pacific strategy isn\u2019t a reaction to its \u2018race\u2019 with China in the Pacific. Rather, the strategy reinforces Japan\u2019s key competitive advantages such as its technology and innovation strengths<\/a>, its experience in disaster risk reduction management and its shared understanding of the economic importance of fisheries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although Japan has been increasingly active in Southeast Asia on maritime security<\/a>, it hasn\u2019t replicated similar efforts in the Pacific. As some analysts have argued<\/a>, there\u2019s a need for PICs to develop a regional maritime security strategy. PALM8 provides a good opportunity.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Japan hasn\u2019t sought to monopolise PALM meetings. It invited the United States to participate in PALM6<\/a>. This year, it has invited New Caledonia and French Polynesia to participate for the first time. Inviting those two territories is an interesting choice: France controls both territories\u2019 defence, foreign and monetary policies, and PICs might not appreciate French influence in regional decision-making.<\/p>\n

This is particularly so as French President Emmanuel Macron used his recent visit to Australia to reiterate France\u2019s commitment to the Pacific. France\u2019s 2013 White Paper on Defence and National Security<\/a> emphasised the country\u2019s defence and security commitments in the Asia\u2013Pacific, particularly in relation to maritime security and trade. France has the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, the greater part of it located in the South Pacific.<\/p>\n

Countries with strategic interests in the Pacific, such as Australia, should recognise that PALM meetings demonstrate a consistent, proactive and longer process of international engagement with PICs that no other country has managed to replicate. If slow and steady wins the race, Japan is well ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan, like many countries, has strong strategic interests in the Pacific. But unlike many countries, Japan hosts a forum every three years with the leaders of the 14\u00a0Pacific Island countries (PICs), as well as ministerial …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":753,"featured_media":39401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,135,2160],"class_list":["post-39396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-indo-pacific","tag-japan","tag-pacific-islands"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSlow and steady wins the race\u2014Japan and the Pacific Island Leaders\u2019 Meeting | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/slow-and-steady-wins-the-race-japan-and-the-pacific-island-leaders-meeting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Slow and steady wins the race\u2014Japan and the Pacific Island Leaders\u2019 Meeting | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Japan, like many countries, has strong strategic interests in the Pacific. 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