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US, China and other partners barred from Pacific Islands summit as regional tensions bite
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The annual Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Suva on Aug 14. The US, China and Taiwan have been barred from an upcoming annual summit of Pacific island nations.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
- Competition for influence in the region is increasing.
- China influenced the exclusion of Taiwan from the summit
- Australia has sought to counter China's influence through financial support, security deals and climate initiatives.
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SYDNEY – The United States, China and Taiwan have been barred from the upcoming annual summit of Pacific island nations, a move that analysts say shows heightened awareness among these tiny countries that growing geopolitical rivalries could prove divisive and costly.
Leaders from the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) are set to meet in Solomon Islands from Sept 8 to 12, but the host nation’s prime minister, Mr Jeremiah Manele, who is the region’s staunchest backer of China, barred the forum’s dialogue partners from attending
