Just why the concept of soft power has become such an accepted explanation for the spread of Chinese influence in the Pacific islands is something of a conundrum. (The term ‘Pacific islands’ is used here …
Tag Archive for: "Pacific islands"
As part of the Australian government’s Pacific push, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced an Australian infrastructure financing facility to support essential infrastructure development in the region. The move echoes earlier calls from the Labor …
President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the recent APEC summit in Port Moresby was meant to be the cap on a soft-power charm offensive validating Chinese influence in the Pacific. In the event, it has been …
Advocates of stronger and more effective Australian engagement in the South Pacific face a couple of entrenched structural challenges. First, the region is hardly critical to Australia’s economic future—the South Pacific accounts for a mere …
Australia and New Zealand are reaching for fresh thoughts about the South Pacific. Canberra offers the Islands economic and security ‘integration’ and a ‘step-up’ in engagement. The new government in Wellington promises to ‘shift the …