Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) initiative

The US and its allies, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United Kingdom, have launched a new initiative called Partners in the Blue Pacific for effective and efficient cooperation with the region’s small island nations in response to China’s aggressive push to expand its sphere of influence in the Pacific. After China pushed for a broad, common cooperation pact with 10 Pacific states, it became obvious the planned extent of its expanding influence and the geostrategic competition in the region increased.

Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) initiative

• The PBP is a five-nation “informal mechanism” to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region.
• It speaks of enhancing “prosperity, resilience, and security” in the Pacific through closer cooperation.
• It means that through the PBP, these countries together and individually will direct more resources towards the Pacific Island Countries to counter China’s aggressive outreach.
• The initiative members will “elevate Pacific regionalism”, and forge stronger ties with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)

• The Pacific Islands Forum is the region’s premier political and economic policy organization.
• Founded in 1971, it comprises 18 members: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Significance of the Pacific Region

Largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs)

• The islands are divided on the basis of physical and human geography into three distinct parts- Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.
• Despite their small land area, the islands are spread out over a wide swath of the Pacific Ocean.
• As a result, though they are some of the smallest and least populated states, they have some of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in the world.

Economic Potential

• Large EEZs have a great deal of economic potential since they can be used to exploit the wealth of fisheries, energy, minerals, and other marine resources present there.
• Hence, they prefer to be identified as Big Ocean States, rather than Small Island States.
• In fact, Kiribati and FSM, both PICs, have EEZs larger than that of India.

Role in Major Power Rivalry

• The major powers of the colonial era competed with each other to gain control over these strategic territories.
• The Pacific islands also acted as one of the major theatres of conflict during the Second World War- between imperial Japan and the US.

India-PICs Relations

• India’s interaction with the PICs is still largely driven by the presence of sizable Indian Diaspora in the region.
• Nearly 40% of Fiji’s population is of Indian origin and about 3000 Indians live in Papua New Guinea at present.
• In terms of institutional engagements, India participates in the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) as one of the key dialogue partners of the Forum.
• The most important development in facilitating India’s interaction with the PICs in recent years has been the formation of an action-oriented Forum for India and Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC).
• FIPIC, a multinational grouping, was launched in 2014.

Areas of Cooperation

Blue Economy

• The PICs with their resource-rich EEZs can be attractive sources of natural resources like Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrocarbons to fuel India’s growing economy and can also provide new markets.
• India can engage with these countries particularly, given its own emphasis on the idea of ‘Blue Economy’.

Climate Change and Sustainable Development

• The geography of these island countries makes them vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate challenges.
• The increasing soil salinity due to the rising sea level threatens the low-lying island states, also giving rise to the problem of displacement.
• Therefore, climate change and sustainable development are crucial areas of concern where a closer partnership can be developed for effective and concrete solutions.