'Our ocean is not empty space for rivalry,' Forum leader says amid China-Taiwan clash
- Admin
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Koror — A Solomon Islands official asked the Pacific Islands Forum's partner nations to keep their boundaries in check and let the region chart its own path.
"Our partners are welcome, and their support is valued, but they should help us realize our ambition, not defy them. Friendship and threat cannot travel in the same canoe," Rick Houenipwela, foreign affairs minister of the Solomon Islands, said at the opening of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leadership meeting held Monday night at the Palan National Gymnasium.
Houenipwela's remarks came on the heels of China's displeasure over Taiwan's participation in this year's Forum, which is chaired by Palau President Surangel Jr., a staunch ally of Taipei.
Some Pacific island nations allied with China are skating on thin ice, with their leaders failing to show up at the regional gathering and instead sending representatives.
Taneti Maamau, president of Kiribati, joined state leaders virtually from Tarawa to hand over the Smaller Island States chairmanship to Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr.
Observers speculated that China had orchestrated the conspicuous absence of key leaders as a protest against the forum leadership’s decision to invite Taiwan. The Forum, however, attempted to downplay the no-shows, attributing them to domestic engagements and flight service challenges.
"Our ocean is not empty space for rivalry. It is our home, and its peace, security, and future must be shaped first and foremost by Pacific peoples," Houenipwela said.
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He recognized the threats to the Forum's fragile solidarity. "This has also been a testing season for the regional unity. Strategic competition has sharpened around us," he said.
"The peace of our ocean has been challenged. At such moments, the Forum must remain the political home where Pacific leaders speak honestly, listen carefully and decide our own course," Houenipwela added.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., who succeeded Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale as the Forum's chairman, agreed that the Pacific island region must remain autonomous.
The Pacific agenda must be driven by the region, and the Forum must remain the political home shaping the island nations' future, Whipps said.
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"The world increasingly recognizes the strategic importance of our region. We welcome friends and genuine partnerships. Yet attention is not the same as respect," he said. "Our partners are welcome to sail with us. But they do not choose our destination," he said at the opening of the Forum's leadership meeting."
The Palauan president said the week must focus on prioritizing the region's needs and goals, such as the vision for 2050, which rests on the island nations' "unity and solidarity as a Forum family."
"Our ocean has always made small islands into a large community. It does not recognize our borders, and neither should our stewardship of it," he said.
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