Some Pacific Island leaders have likened China’s development engagements in the region to that of the cold war era.
However, the Chinese Embassy in Fiji has pushed back saying these claims are only fueled by the cold war mentality.
Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong was among the first to express concerns on the motive behind Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister, Wang Yi’s visit to the region.
“The decision of one country does affect regional security. So I respect the sovereign mind of every nation to make its own decision but these aren’t decisions in the abstract, these are decisions that affect the nations and the region as a whole,” said Wong.
U.S Embassy Charge D’Affaires Tony Greubel has echoed worries about China trying to rush a security agreement in the Pacific without proper consultations.
“We’ve expressed concern. Sometimes these simple agreements will take two years to negotiate. Part of diplomacy is you got to be patient”
China’s Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo while defending the visit said Australia should understand how international relations work and not dance to the tunes of its allies.
“If they continue to have the mentality of Western dominance if they continue to not to believe in a win-win solution or a zero-some game. This will be problematic. The real reason is that because of some countries, because of some politicians. They stick to the cold-war mentality”
Ambassador Bo said the world has changed and there are possibilities for mutual victories.
“To try to achieve win-win solution instead of sticking to the cold war mentality and try to dominates and control and to seek hegemony by some individual country”
The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Certain critical Pacific Island leaders and political scientists are hypothesising that the current events in Fiji are a Pacific version of the cold war.
SOURCE: FBC NEWS/PACNEWS
