U.S. and France seek greater influence in Pacific in face of China’s rise

In response to China’s growing presence, the United States and France are ramping up efforts to assert their influence in the South Pacific region.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Secretaries of State Antony Blinken and Defense Lloyd Austin made recent visits to the region, underscoring its strategic importance.

Blinken, who, along with Austin, concluded their regional tour in Australia, initiated the opening of a new U.S. embassy in Nuku’alofa, the capital of the Polynesian nation of Tonga.

This move demonstrates the U.S.’s elevated interest in the region against China’s increasing influence.

While Blinken acknowledged China’s problematic behavior in the Indo-Pacific, he also expressed a willingness to work effectively with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

In recent months, the U.S. has made diplomatic overtures to several island nations in the previously overlooked South Pacific region.

This has been triggered by a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands in April 2022 and subsequent multilateral agreement pursuits by Beijing with a handful of countries.

In a bid to counter China’s economic and security influence, the U.S. administration has aimed to strengthen ties with the Pacific islands, such as by reopening its embassy in the Solomon Islands after a three-decade hiatus.

The first-ever visit by a Pentagon chief to Papua New Guinea was carried out by Austin.

He praised the “historic progress” in the relationship between the two countries and expressed a desire to advance defense cooperation.

This followed a bilateral security pact signed in May, which grants the U.S. military access to Papua New Guinea’s ports and airports.

Subsequently, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Papua New Guinea.

His goal was not to compete with the U.S. and China, but to propose a pathway to a free, open, and peaceful Indo-Pacific.

He emphasized two pillars of France: “climate and strategic and military security.”

Macron reiterated France’s autonomy and its presence of 1.5 million citizens in seven overseas territories like New Caledonia, Tahiti, and Réunion.

This French strategy in the Indo-Pacific gained more momentum following Australia’s signing of the AUKUS security pact with the U.S. and the U.K. in 2021 to strengthen its regional presence.

The pact, which includes the development of nuclear submarines by Australia, replaced a previous agreement with France for conventional submarines, straining Paris-Canberra relations temporarily.