As Western countries compete with China for influence in the Pacific region, Japan today (16th) welcomed leaders of Pacific island countries to attend a three-day summit to discuss issues ranging from sea level rise to security.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also expected to seek to ease concerns about the continued discharge of treated water from Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Kishida said before the 10th Japan-Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) held every three years that Japan would “join hands with participants to address common challenges such as climate change and disaster management.”
Fumio Kishida wrote in an article published in the Japan Times on the 15th: “As we adapt to the changing situation… Japan will continue to move forward together with Pacific island countries and regions.”
The summit, which will issue a joint statement on the 18th, brings together representatives from Japan and 18 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member states, including Australia and New Zealand, but the prime ministers of these countries will not attend. .
With the support of the United States, Japan has strengthened defense cooperation in the disputed Pacific region, and China has also provided infrastructure and security assistance in the region.
Notably, China signed a secret security agreement with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele in 2022, raising concerns that China may one day exploit the Solomon Islands, where The region gained a strategic military foothold, despite assurances from both Beijing and Heniala.
In January this year, Nauru, a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan and instead supported China. There are only 12 countries left in the world that diplomatically recognize Taiwan, including Palau, another member of the Island Forum.
Jennifer Anson, Palau’s national security coordinator, told broadcaster NHK that many people in the organization were reluctant to say “anything bad about China” due to their close ties with China.
Ships carrying vital energy imports heading to Japan pass through the waterways surrounding the Forum’s member states, which are also important fishing areas for Japan.
Tokyo is expected to pledge assistance to the islands in a range of areas including maritime security, health care, education and adaptation to climate risks.
But the Japanese government is also seeking to understand the thorny issue of water discharge from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant suffered a meltdown after being hit by a tsunami in 2011.
In November last year, leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum issued a joint statement expressing “strong concern” about the emissions, but Japan hoped the statement would not damage relations with the organization. This treatment of water discharges is recognized by the United Nations Nuclear Energy Agency.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters today that the summit was an opportunity “to reassure them through a thorough explanation based on science.”