China

An Expansionist Force in the Pacific Region

Authors

  • Saber Salem Jindal School of International Affairs

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54945/jjia.v2i4.51

Keywords:

Chinese expansion, Aid competition, Debt trap, Chinese migration to Pacific

Abstract

In recent years, China has been steadily expanding its non-military footprint in the Pacific region in an unprecedented manner. The multi-dimensional expansion of Chinese presence in the Pacific has arguably, made the region a microcosm of power politics amongst regional and established powers. Part of the explanation for the Chinese fastpace growth in the Blue Pacific is the presence of the Taiwanese who have been one of the biggest providers of aid for diplomatic recognition. The aid-dependent Pacific Island Countries (PICs) by being active creators of the Sino-Taiwan chequebook diplomacy have time and again switched their diplomatic allegiance in order to secure more foreign aid for their social development and economic growth. Despite such an “unreliable” behaviour, Beijing has widened and deepened its presence in the region by providing concessional loans with “no strings attached.” The latter element has been conveniently alluring to all the PICs so much so that they have borrowed more than 50 percent of their GDP from China. This has alarmed the traditional donors such as US, Japan and Australia which are revisiting their policies and re-engaging in the Pacific politics actively, all aimed at preventing the Island nations sinking in Chinese debt and consequently losing their strategic leverage to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As for Taipei, it had managed to ally itself with six PICs in return for provision of foreign aid and foreign direct investments. However, in September 2019, two of its diplomatic allies ditched it in favour of Beijing. There has also been a paradigm shift in Beijing’s earlier policy vis-à-vis the PICs. In the past, PRC would not allocate aid to Taiwan’s (ROC) allies, however, after a shift in policy, ROC’s diplomatic allies currently get more aid from Beijing than from Taipei. The other worrying factor for the local population is a steady growth of the Chinese diaspora. Despite anti-Chinese riots in many countries, the new wave of Chinese immigrants do not seem deterred by the negative repercussion of their presence in the region. These Chinese new arrivals invest heavily in real estate in a bid to legitimise their presence in the island nations. This development has caused massive trepidation among regional powers, as they believe, would pave the way for Chinese military presence in the region under a legitimate claim to protect its overseas nationals.

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Author Biography

Saber Salem, Jindal School of International Affairs

Saber Salem has received his PhD from the Jindal School of International Affairs. Previously, he worked for the United Nations (UN) in different roles and capacities as well as the Canadian International Development Agency as a Policy Analyst. He has conducted extensive research in the Pacific region.

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Published

2020-12-01

How to Cite

Salem, S. (2020). China: An Expansionist Force in the Pacific Region. Jindal Journal of International Affairs, 8(2), 10–25. https://doi.org/10.54945/jjia.v2i4.51

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2020)

Section

Articles
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