– Dr. Faisal Ahmed and Farhan Alam –
China intends to hold a summit with the Pacific islands during the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leader’s meeting scheduled later this week. This year, the APEC meeting is scheduled in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a Pacific island country and an APEC member. Chinese President Xi Jinping will also hold a bilateral meeting with PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. Though, President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin have preferred to skip the APEC meeting, but President Xi Jinping is all set to attend it. In fact, the Pacific islands are gradually acquiring geo-strategic significance for China, as much as they have been for Australia and the United States. The ocean diplomacy of emerging economies is also getting considerable attention in popular discourse. China is currently the second largest donor of aid to the South Pacific islands, and is likely to surpass Australia. But, India’s ocean diplomacy, which has conventionally focused largely in and around the Indian Ocean, is now spreading its tributaries to the Pacific islands as well.
Initiatives are being taken under the aegis of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) established in 2014 and also through extending the outreach of the Act East Policy. In fact, deeper cooperation with the Pacific islands has the potential to provide a strategic depth to India’s Indo-Pacific diplomacy. There are several issues that solicit more policy space in this context, at a time when at least six of these islands viz. Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Island, Palau, Tuvalu and Solomon Islands are diplomatically opposed to China.
Primarily, the issue related to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of these Pacific islands is gradually becoming a key concern. EEZ is a resource-rich continental shelf bordering a country. As per the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, the EEZ of a country extends up to 200 nautical miles from the extent of its territorial sea. Despite the UNCLOS framework, there are evident disputes over the demarcation of the EEZ and freedom of navigation. Some such common examples include those in the South China Sea, the Arctic Sea etc.
In the South Pacific, there are EEZ related disputes e.g. competing claims on Minerva Reef by Fiji and Tonga. Interestingly, these countries are small islands, but have sizable EEZ. Thus, one of the major challenges is the over-exploitation of the resources in the EEZ. For instance, PNG has recently raised its concern over the exploitation of its EEZ, as intruders are illegally fishing out the marine resources. Fish conservation continues to be a major challenge.
India is already looking forward to help the SIDS countries in coastal surveillance. In a conversation with the authors,Stenneth Numol, Acting High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea in New Delhi called for a joint border surveillance exercise by South Pacific SIDS military with the leadership and supervision from the Indian Navy.“This will address so many issues like the illegal and unregulated fishing issues, the intruding military exercises, asylum seekers, drug and human trafficking, and illegal exportation of timber, added Numol.
Moreover, India can also contribute to fish zoning in these islands. It can be done in the form of ocean zoning, which would be a complete solution for environmental resource management. India can engage in terms of capacity building for ocean zoning so that the designated spaces for aquaculture, fishing etc. can be worked out. The freedom of navigation and the security of EEZ need to be ensured, especially at a time when China is spreading its outreach in the region – both through trade as well as aid.
Yet another major concern is the protection of biodiversity in the Pacific islands. Deforestation is destroying the rainforests of these islands. For instance, PNG is witnessing a significant loss of biodiversity. Millions of tons of timber woods are being supplied to China from PNG to be used as raw material to cater to China’s global exports of wooden product. The over-exploitation of biodiversity is leading to fragile ecosystem and creating livelihood challenges as well. Some of the key challenges facing these islands owing to climate change also include the ocean acidification, low water quality, decreasing terrestrial ecosystem, coastal erosion and natural disasters like floods and cyclones.
Though lot of climate change mitigation efforts are underway, yet these islands continue to face serious concerns related to cost of compliance and implementation mechanism. In 2009, President Anote Tong of Kiribati proposed a concept of Pacific Oceanscape aimed at protecting the marine ecosystem through financing for Marine Protected Areas. The proposal was seconded by the Pacific Islands Forum. However, these islands are yet to get the desired outcomes, and are highly unlikely to be able to do so in the near future.
Stenneth Numol also called for New Delhi’s support in technical capacity for developing the marine life and aquaculture in the small islands. As per the Aquaculture Products Market – Global Forecast to 2023 Report, the global market for aquaculture product is estimated to increase from US$30.1 billion in 2018 to US$42.56 billion in 2023. It is forecasted to grow at a rate of 7.2 per cent.Numol maintains that SIDS do not have adequate capacity and technical expertise to develop the marine life, but firmly believes that ocean can contribute significantly to the global economy in the years ahead. He also sees crucial roles for partner countries like India. Numol argued that “India can be the real force to assist in developing the aquaculture of the blue economy. May be a consolidated regional position on how to develop the aquaculture product should be given prominence in the discussions at the regional forums on issues like Aquaculture Development Strategy for SIDS”.“This in my view will identify the specific ways relevant for India’s interventional assistance to the South Pacific SIDS”, added Numol.
The issues of land reclamation and climate refugee are already acquiring alarming proportions. Numol also suggested that building sea walls and developing a good stormwater draining system on these islands could be potentially useful. “SIDS need to reclaim the land already washed away by the rising sea and further build sea walls. There is also a need to establish good stormwater drainage system for SIDS”, Numol said.The government of Kiribati has already purchased 5500 acres of land in Fiji to shift its citizens in case the island nation gets submerged. This reveals the level of vulnerability faced by the people living in the SIDS.
Technology is another area in which India is already taking several initiatives to support the Pacific islands. In May 2017, India entered into memorandum of understanding with Fiji, Nauru, Samoa and two other islands for establishing a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology. India can engage with the Pacific islands in the arena of space technology. In 2015, while hosting the FIPIC summit in Jaipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced setting up a space research station in any one of the Pacific island countries.
Moreover, India can share its expertise in information and communication technology (ICT) for helping the government officials in the Pacific islands make informed climate change mitigation decisions. ICT can also be used to support sustainable livelihood through the south-south cooperation initiatives. India can also provide training in remote sensing technologies which can help in disaster management and preparedness.
By allocating more policy spaceto key issues affecting these islands, India can play a pivotal role in contributing to sustainable livelihood in the Indo-Pacific.
(This article is an initial output of a Project on India’s Engagements with SIDS of the Indo-Pacific (Project-SIDS) being carried out by Dr. Faisal Ahmed. Project-SIDS is supported by the FORE School of Management, New Delhi. It aims to understand the economic, environmental and geopolitical arenas of engagements between India and the SIDS of the Indian as well as the Pacific Oceans).
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About the Author
Dr. Faisal Ahmed
Academic & Geopolitical Expert
Dr. Faisal Ahmed is an Associate Professor and Chairman of International Business Area at FORE School of Management, New Delhi. His research and consulting areas include Indo-Pacific trade and geopolitics, economic integration, WTO issues, and south-south cooperation. He holds Masters and doctoral degrees from India and Executive Certification in Geopolitical Analysis from Geneva, Switzerland. He held the position of Consultant to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) and other organisations, and has led project supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India. He is a member of International Political Science Association (IPSA), Montreal, Canada. His research papers have been published in national and international refereed journals indexed in scholarly databases of Scopus and Thomson-Clarivate.
He has also published several opinion articles, book chapters and monographs with on India’s international economic relations. He has edited a book India’s Foreign Policy: West Asia and North Africa; and is the author of the textbook Business Environment: Indian and Global Perspective published by Prentice-Hall (PHI) publications. He has visited several countries for academic work and is invited as speaker and panelist by leading universities, think tanks, Embassy and inter-governmental organization in India and abroad. Dr. Ahmed’s articles have also appeared in leading newspapers like The Financial Express, Bangkok Post, Business Standard, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), The Santiago Times (Chile), The Hindu Business Line, The Economic Times, and The Straits Times (Singapore). Also, he has been on expert panel in national and international media like Times Now TV channel, News18, Vietnam TV, and the BBC.
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC NEWS.
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About the Author
Farhan Alam
Consultant and Researcher
Mr. Farhan Alam is a Research Associate at FORE School of Management, New Delhi. He is currently working on Project-SIDS. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from AMU, Aligarh and qualified UGC-NET in Management.
Earlier, he has worked as a consultant and researcher on livelihood issues on the projects supported by the UNHCR.His research interest includes environment, migration and livelihood.
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC NEWS.
