China\u2019s dominance in the Pacific can be expected in a decade or so, given its growing presence in many islands all over the region even now.<\/p>\n
Visiting professor emeritus Ron Crocombe of the University of the South Pacific said that China\u2019s interests in the islands have steadily grown over the years.<\/p>\n
He cited the setting up of a Chinese embassy in Suva, Fiji, the recent decision to build a 24-hour English TV in American Samoa, and the growing presence of Chinese nationals and Chinese businesses in Pacific islands over the years. <\/p>\n
\u201cChina has taken a major role [in the Pacific],\u201d said Crocombe, a published author and speaker who has gained international reputation for his work on Pacific land tenure.<\/p>\n
He said the interest displayed by China and other big economies in the Pacific is influenced by the island nations\u2019 \u201cinternational votes\u201d as well as their rich natural resources, among others.<\/p>\n
Small island nations in the Pacific are members of several international organizations and their votes of support for China, for example, on key issues would matter a lot. An example is China\u2019s continued lobbying for international support on the Taiwan issue.<\/p>\n
Crocombe said that China, along with Japan and Malaysia, are also interested in minerals, timber, and fishing opportunities on the islands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe richest seabed is found in Pacific islands,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
During the question-and-answer portion of his presentation at the American Memorial Park Monday evening, Crocombe said this pattern of China\u2019s growing presence could also be felt in the Marianas, particularly in the business sector. He said this trend would become even more pronounced in about 10 years.<\/p>\n
He said that local governments and organizations should prepare now for this shift in paradigm. While Western countries, Australia, and New Zealand have dominated the islands, the trend now favors Asian countries, mainly East Asia\u2014China, Japan, and Korea.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are at the center of a paradigm shift. \u2026The big shift is to Asia. \u2026An overwhelming influence would be from East Asia,\u201d said Crocombe. <\/p>\n
He said island economies should be prepared for opportunities that this shift would provide them as well as for the challenges it would create. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s how well you coordinate and integrate,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Crocombe will soon publish a new 500-page book on trends\u2014economic, social, cultural, and political\u2014in Asia and the Pacific Islands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China\u2019s dominance in the Pacific can be expected in a decade or so, given its growing presence in many islands all over the region even now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}