Blinken visits Tonga, discusses strategic importance of Pacific region

WELLINGTON - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of China’s “problematic behaviour” during a visit to the Pacific island nation of Tonga on Wednesday, citing Beijing’s militarisation of the South China Sea and what he called economic coercion.

China’s growing presence in the region, which saw it

sign a security pact with the Solomon Islands in 2022,

has fuelled concern in Washington and Canberra about Beijing’s ambitions and prompted Western aid and increased engagement.

Mr Blinken said at a press conference that the US had no objection to engagements in the region by other countries including China, but there were concerns that investments needed to be transparent and undertaken according to the rule of law, with sustainable finance and no strings.

“I think one of the things that we’ve seen is that as China’s engagement in the (Indo-Pacific) region has grown, there has been some, from our perspective, increasingly problematic behaviour,” he said.

Mr Blinken earlier held talks with Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni on the strategic importance of the Pacific region, ahead of visits to the South Pacific’s two major powers, New Zealand and Australia.

Mr Blinken said that the United States was committed to both Tonga and the Pacific Islands.

His trip is the latest by a senior US official to the region. President Joe Biden hosted a first-ever summit in Washington with Pacific island leaders last September, and a second summit is scheduled later in 2023. 

In recent years, China has funded infrastructure and increased its diplomatic presence in the region.

China’s Foreign Minister, Mr Wang Yi, undertook a multi-stop tour in the Pacific region in 2022.

There has been a significant boost in engagement and funding from Western countries to counter this. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting Papua New Guinea this week before heading to Australia, where the largest Australia-US military exercise is due to begin.

French President Emmanuel Macron is also in the region, visiting Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

One of the bigger concerns is debt levels in the region. Tonga is heavily indebted to Beijing and there have been questions about how Tonga will repay that debt.

Mr Sovaleni said at the press conference that Tonga had started to pay down its debt in 2023 and had no concerns about China, and that their relationship was currently around development issues such as infrastructure.

Mr Blinken will officially open the new US embassy in the capital Nuku’alofa later on Wednesday before flying on to Wellington, New Zealand. REUTERS