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Opinion | Australia’s China bias and colonial blinkers mean it fails to see big picture for Pacific islands’ development
- Canberra had chosen symbolic gestures and feeble investments over more practical initiatives now being offered by Beijing, failing to heed its island neighbours’ needs
- Australia must shed its colonial mindset and stop claiming to have the moral high ground over China
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Australia, caught off guard by the recent security pact between the Solomon Islands and China, has yet to recover from Beijing’s charm offensive in the Pacific island nations.
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China, which last month sent Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a 10-day tour of the South Pacific, has put forward wide-ranging proposals – including a regional security deal – in the hope of rallying 10 Pacific island nations into developing an interconnected cooperative environment based on mutual respect and expanding geoeconomic relations.
But Australia, yet to shed its colonial mindset, sees China’s venture into the Pacific as an encroachment into its backyard.
The government of new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has tried to soften the edges of its predecessor’s foreign policy by presenting itself as an overnight reformist, prepared to engage in dialogue rather than dictating to its smaller neighbours.
Through its initiatives in the Middle East and Africa, China has shown a willingness to maintain cordial relations with all countries. This model is being replicated in the Pacific to help rejuvenate infrastructure and lift economic standards.
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Unfortunately, Australia appears determined to contest the legitimacy of Chinese efforts in the region, with little more than fear and propaganda to spread about China’s practical infrastructure and security initiatives.
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