Political Reviews

The Region in Review: International Issues and Events, 2011 nic maclellan

Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2011 david chappell, jon fraenkel, gordon leua nanau, howard van trease, muridan s widjojo

The Contemporary Pacic, Volume 24, Number 2, 359–431 © 2012 by University of Hawai‘i Press

359 The Region in Review: International Issues and Events, 2011

Throughout 2011, the Pacific Islands in the lead-up to the annual Forum Forum (pif) celebrated the fortieth meeting held in Auckland in Septem- anniversary of its founding meeting, ber. In recent years, there have been which was held in (NZ) widespread rumblings about the role from 5 to 7 August 1971. Leaders the secretariat is playing with regard such as Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of to , trade, and regional integration Fiji, Sir Albert Henry of , under the Pacific Plan. In 2011, this and Hammer deRoburt of culminated in tentative moves to find had created the Forum (then called an alternative candidate to Slade. the South Pacific Forum) because Members of the Melanesian the colonial powers refused to allow Spearhead Group (msg) debated “political” issues like nuclear testing the nomination of former Fiji Min- and independence to be discussed at ister of Foreign Affairs Kaliopate meetings of the South Pacific Commis- Tavola as a possible replacement, but sion (spc). pif leaders were reluctant to issue and New Zealand were an ­unprecedented criticism of the founding members of the Forum and secretary-general by granting him just retain their influence today in the one term. Slade was unanimously organization. But the anniversary cele- reconfirmed for a second term at the brations have highlighted the changing Auckland leaders’ meeting. membership, mandate, and capacity of There were other significant the regional body. changes among senior pifs staff in The range of players in Forum 2011. One of two deputy secretaries- activities has broadened, with non- general, Peter Forau of Solomon independent Pacific Island nations Islands, completed his term in March, incorporated into pif meetings and moving to replace Papua New Guin- multilateral agencies increasing their ea’s Rima Ravusiro as director general influence. This has added to the of the msg Secretariat in Port Vila. regional agenda and complicated deci- In June, Andie Fong Toy replaced sion making, as pif Secretary-General Forau at the Forum, joining lamented: “We of as deputy secretary-general. are seeing some progress in a number Fong Toy previously served in a of areas in our region, but unfortu- number of legal and political positions nately the challenges don’t get any in the secretariat, but her appoint- easier” (pifs 2011e). ment was another regional milestone. With Slade completing his first As Tuiloma Neroni Slade noted, “I three-year term of office during 2011, have much pleasure in congratulating the leadership of the Pacific Islands and welcoming Ms. Fong Toy as the Forum Secretariat (pifs) was debated first woman to take up the position

360 political reviews • region in review 361 of Deputy Secretary General” (pifs Nations (UN). Starting in 2012, the 2011b). African Caribbean and Pacific (acp) By year’s end there were other Secretariat and three US territo- significant changes, with Australians ries—American Sāmoa, , and Rick Nimmo, director of political the Commonwealth of the Northern governance and security, and Tanya Mariana Islands—will also become Chakriya Bowman, director of observers. economic governance, ending their In 2010, the US House of Repre- contracts. Some pif member countries sentatives passed hr 2410, the State have criticized the secretariat’s role Department Authorization Act, which in regional trade negotiations, and included provisions calling on US the departure of Bowman, a former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “to AusAID trade advisor, opens the way work with the for a refocusing of negotiations on to find appropriate affiliations for the Economic Partnership Agreement representatives of American , (epa) with the (EU). Guam, and the Commonwealth of the In spite of recent critiques of their .” Dur- role (Bohane 2010), pifs staff marked ing her 2010 regional visit, Clinton the fortieth anniversary with signifi- agreed that these territories’ applica- cant pride. Feleti Teo noted: “Some tions could go forward. With the people have questioned the value of Forum leaders’ significant decision in the Forum and its Secretariat and Auckland regarding the extension of whether we will still exist in 40 years. observer status to three US dependen- I would like to think so. . . . Many of cies in the region, just Pitcairn, West the challenges that we face can only be Papua, Hawai‘i, and Rapa Nui are left best addressed through regional inte- out. gration and cooperation. There really With New Zealand hosting the is no other way” (pifs 2011d). Forum leaders’ meeting in Auck- The Forum’s formal membership land to coincide with the opening of links Australia, New Zealand, and the the Rugby World Cup, the fortieth fourteen independent island states, anniversary became a major event. In with Fiji currently suspended from a coup for pif host NZ Prime Min- activities. However, it now has two ister John Key, the regional meeting associate members (the French depen- was attended for the first time by a dencies of and French UN leader, UN Secretary-General Ban Polynesia) and other territories with ­Ki-moon. On his way to New Zea- observer status ( and Wallis land, the secretary-general visited Kiri- and Futuna) or special observer status bati, , and Australia. (Timor-Leste). Lauding Ban Ki-moon’s visit as “a In recent years, these Pacific Island historical milestone in the relation- observers have jostled for space ship between the Pacific region and with multilateral agencies that have the ,” Samoan Prime observer status, including the World Minister Tuilaepa Sa‘ilele Malielegaoi Bank, the , said: “The visit enabled the Secretary- the Commonwealth, and the United General to see firsthand the scale of 362 the contemporary pacific • 24:2 (2012) the challenges facing vulnerable Pacific The huge gathering in Auckland small island countries. . . . The fact was top heavy, raising questions that the Secretary-General is from about whether political issues could the Asia-Pacific region and that the be freely discussed by Island leaders visit took place before the start of his without offending visiting delegations second term, not at the end, were posi- ­(Maclellan 2011b). Amid the rush of tive aspects that were not lost on the rugby fever and competing announce- Pacific leaders” (Tuilaepa 2011). ments from donor countries and devel- President Anote Tong opment banks, it was sometimes hard hosted Ban Ki-moon in Tarawa. for the Island states to make them- Drawing on this personal exposure, selves heard—scheduled press confer- the secretary-general highlighted the ences from the Small Islands States particular vulnerability of low-lying (sis) caucus and the Pacific members atolls in subsequent speeches. In a of the acp grouping (pacp) were both joint communiqué, the secretary-gen- canceled without explanation. eral and pif leaders “reaffirmed the If the annual meeting keeps expand- unique and particular vulnerabilities ing, one day the Islands might again and development needs of Small Island wish to meet separately from the Developing States (sids) and empha- world’s major powers, as they did in sized the importance of enhanced 1971 after banned “political” coherence, coordination and respon- discussions at South Pacific Confer- siveness in the UN system’s support ences. The freedom to speak out on for sids” (pif leaders and UN Secre- Island concerns is significant at a time tary-General Ban Ki-moon 2011). when two of the remaining colonial Alongside the UN secretary-general, powers in the region—France and there were other major players in the —are pushing hard the corridors in Auckland. The EU to influence the Forum’s agenda delegation led by European Commis- and rebuild links with pif member sion President José Manuel Barroso ­countries. and EU Climate Commissioner Connie The US government, fearful of the Hedegaard jostled for space with small but growing Chinese influence Commonwealth Secretary-General in the region, is mounting high-profile Kamalesh Sharma and French Minis- diplomatic initiatives. Secretary of ter of Foreign and European Affairs State Clinton toured the region in late Alain Juppé, the first French foreign 2010 and President Barack Obama minister to visit New Zealand in finally completed a twice-canceled twenty-eight years. A fifty-strong US Asia-Pacific tour in November 2011, delegation, led by Deputy Secretary of with visits to Hawai‘i, Australia, and State for Management and Resources . Thomas Nides, passed through the The decision to grant observer corridors with ’s Parliamen- status to US Pacific territories reflects tary Senior Vice Minister for Foreign this new engagement, although the Affairs Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi and a US government’s focus on the Pacific Chinese delegation led by Vice Foreign Islands region, driven by strategic Minister Cui Tankai. competition with , should not be political reviews • region in review 363 overemphasized. Washington’s limited Assembly). After years of lobbying for attention to key Island concerns was regional support, Temaru’s governing highlighted in Auckland, when the US Union for Democracy (upld) coali- delegation proudly announced a token tion had a significant breakthrough in us$21 million in funding for climate August: for the first time, the French adaptation (the hosts were too polite Polynesia Assembly narrowly passed to ask whether this was the same a resolution to support reinscription. $21 million that Secretary Clinton Temaru then led a large delegation to announced when she toured the region Fiji and New Zealand in September, in 2010). lobbying Pacific ministers and winning This year’s Forum also highlighted support from a majority of Forum the ongoing integration of New Cale- Island Countries (fics) to increase donia, , and ­Wallis international monitoring of France’s and Futuna into regional affairs. policies in French Polynesia. Alongside delegations led by President This momentum notwithstanding, it Harold Martin of New Caledonia and was soon clear that Australia and New President Oscar Manutahi Temaru of Zealand did not support Temaru’s call French Polynesia, French Foreign Min- for UN involvement. After the end of ister Juppé arrived for the post-Forum armed conflict in New Caledonia, a dialogue accompanied by key leaders halt to nuclear testing in 1996, and from France’s three Pacific dependen- the 1998 Noumea Accord, the two cies (Maclellan 2011a). largest Forum members are reluctant France’s regional relations have to upset Paris. Australia is also casting improved, with trade, aid, and military a watchful eye on possible French lob- ties expanding across the region. As bying against their bid for a rotating a major contributor to the European UN Security Council seat in 2013. Development Fund, France is also Australia and New Zealand using its influence in the European ­reaffirmed existing policy from the Union to leverage its colonial pres- 2006 Forum in Sāmoa, which supports ence in the region (French Ministry the principle of French Polynesia’s of Foreign Affairs 2007). But despite right to self-determination but encour- these changes, long-standing issues ages French Polynesia and France of self-determination in the French to seek agreement on how to realize Pacific will not go away. French Polynesia’s right to choose a In 2011 there was a major focus new political status. This more cau- on French Polynesia, with President tious position prevailed again in Auck- Temaru calling for his country to be land, meaning that Papeete has not yet reinscribed on the UN list of non-self- won the same right to international governing territories (a status New scrutiny that Noumea won twenty-five Caledonia obtained in December years ago. (In 2010, the governments 1986, when, in the face of French of France and New Caledonia jointly opposition, Australia and New hosted a regional seminar of the UN Zealand joined the Island nations to Special Committee on Decolonization successfully lobby for New Caledo- in Noumea, but President Temaru was nia’s reinscription at the UN General barred from entry into the meeting.) 364 the contemporary pacific • 24:2 (2012)

In spite of the decision on reinscrip- ­“rescue” Colonel Ratu Tevita Ului- tion, the French Pacific territories lakeba Mara —son of the late Fijian are seeking to upgrade their status president and a supporter-turned-critic within the Forum. of coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama. is seeking an upgrade from observer One olive branch was proffered status to associate membership, while in September, when Forum leaders New Caledonia, currently an associ- agreed “to permit Fiji to participate in ate member, is seeking to become a pacer-Plus meetings at officials-level full member. Even though the 2010 only, given Fiji’s important economic leaders’ meeting in suggested role and links to prospects for broader that full membership was reserved regional economic integration” for independent states, NZ Foreign (Forum Communiqué 2011, item Minister Murray McCully issued a 34). However, Fiji Foreign Minister joint statement with French Foreign Ratu Inoke Kubuabola spurned this Minister Juppé, stating that “New half-offer as ignoring Fiji’s rights as a Zealand encouraged New Caledonia’s signatory to the 1992 pacer (Pacific interest in increasing engagement with Agreement on Closer Economic Rela- the region and warmly welcomed the tions) treaty. prospect of its full membership of the All these pressures have spurred sig- Pacific Islands Forum” (Maclellan nificant new initiatives by subregional 2011a, 23). groupings. Besides the long-standing By January 2012, Australian Par- coordination of the smallest Forum liamentary Secretary for Pacific Island members as the Small Island States Affairs Richard Marles was in Paris to caucus, Micronesian leaders began discuss New Caledonia’s bid for full to establish a secretariat in 2011 to membership. Noumea’s engagement formalize their regular Micronesian with the region will also be boosted Chief Executives’ Summit. A new by the decision in 2011 to establish a Polynesian Alliance was created in network of delegates that will repre- November, linking Sāmoa, , Cook sent New Caledonia across the region Islands, Tuvalu, and , with the and be based at French embassies in support of pif observer countries Vanuatu, , Fiji, like ­Wallis and Futuna, Tokelau, and New Zealand, and Australia. French Polynesia. Sāmoa’s prime Even as the Forum marked its minister hosted the inaugural meeting fortieth birthday, intra-regional unity of the alliance and currently chairs continued to be strained by compet- the new grouping. Early plans for ing agendas on trade and fisheries, as New Zealand to join the group did well as by varying responses to post- not eventuate, though New Zealand coup Fiji. Relations between some retains influence in Polynesia through Melanesian and Polynesian leaders the Te Vaka Moana fishing network have suffered, with forthright polem- (Lesa 2011). ics against the Fiji regime by Sāmoa’s It is too early to tell whether the prime minister (Stuff 2011) and with new subregional grouping will grow Tonga’s decision in May to send the into a counterweight to the Melane- patrol boat Savea to Fijian waters to sian Spearhead Group. The larger political reviews • region in review 365

Melanesian nations retain significant Indonesia Development Coopera- influence in the Forum: even though tion Agreement. These moves have the msg Secretariat doesn’t formally dismayed the West Papua National participate in Forum meetings as an Council for Liberation, which has observer, as the largest Island nations an information office in Port Vila, the Melanesian states still influence especially since the new cooperation pifs decisions, policy, and appoint- agreement stresses Indonesian ter- ments. ritorial integrity and sovereignty over msg countries are driving new rela- West Papua and prohibits Vanuatu tionships internationally. Even though from interfering in Indonesia’s “inter- Timor-Leste is still primarily looking nal affairs.” Indonesia’s attainment of west to the Association of South East msg observer status was a sharp blow Asian Nations (asean), Dili is cooper- for the West Papuan nationalist move- ating with the Melanesian Spearhead ment, which has been lobbying for Group on trade, climate change, and that status for many years. Renewed other issues. In February, msg foreign human rights abuses by the Indone- ministers “endorsed applications for sian military and the shooting, beat- observership by Indonesia and Timor- ing, and jailing of peaceful protesters Leste and agreed to seek an ‘out of after October flag raisings in Jayapura session’ decision from the leaders to (McLeod 2011) have not slowed this allow Indonesia and Timor-Leste to regional rapprochement. attend as observers at the March 2011 Indonesia is not the only enhanced [msg] leaders’ summit” (Fiji Ministry trade and diplomatic player. In 2011, of Information 2011). tripled its develop- In September, Timorese Prime ment aid to the Islands region, from Minister Xanana Gusmão visited the us$300,000 to us$1 million, as part msg Secretariat in Port Vila—the first of the Lee Myung-bak government’s visit by an overseas head of govern- “New Asia Diplomacy” initiative. In ment since the secretariat was opened June, Korean diplomats and repre- in 2008—and Timorese officials sentatives of fourteen Island nations announced a us$500,000-dollar grant gathered in Seoul for the first ever for salaries and projects. Korea-Pacific summit (Vanuatu Inde- For many years, Indonesian diplo- pendent 2011), reinforcing Korean mats have lobbied the Islands region lobbying for a rotating UN Security from embassies in , Welling­ Council seat. ton, Beijing, and Tokyo, but now The Bainimarama regime contin- Jakarta is seeking more links on the ues to widen its diplomatic and trade ground. Indonesia’s success in gain- network. In April, Fiji was formally ing observer status at the March msg admitted to the Non-Aligned Move- summit was followed the next month ment (nam). It is the only Pacific by the opening of its new embassy in Island member apart from Vanuatu, Suva. The Sato Kilman government which has been a member since 1983. in Vanuatu is also forming closer ties Fiji Minister of Foreign Affairs Ratu with Indonesia, with the December Inoke Kubuabola said joining this signing in Jakarta of a Vanuatu- movement would help refocus Fiji’s 366 the contemporary pacific • 24:2 (2012) relationships away from its tradi- lack of focus on regional affairs (Herr tional partners Australia and New 2010; Herr and Bergin 2011; Hay- Zealand and allow Suva to pursue its ward-Jones 2011a; Hayward-Jones “Look North” policy through direct 2011b). engagement with asean countries and Australia continues to maintain strengthened ties to Beijing (Radio a significant role in regional affairs, Australia 2011a). through aid, investment, trade, and In response, as Chinese invest- personnel. For instance, in April ment in the Pacific Islands reached Graeme Wilson was replaced as us$106.7 million in 2010, US officials ramsi Special Coordinator by long- looked to boost China-Taiwan com- serving foreign affairs official Nicholas petition. US Deputy Secretary of State ­Coppel—the latest in a series of Aus- Thomas Nides met Taiwan’s Vice tralians to head the Regional Assis- Foreign Minister Ssu-tsun Shen on the tance Mission to Solomon Islands. sidelines of the Forum leaders’ meeting But the constraints on Australian in Auckland, as Taiwan announced influence were highlighted when Fiji another us$500,000 grant for eight Prime Minister Bainimarama invited Council of Regional Organizations of a representative from Luxembourg to the Pacific (crop) agencies in 2012. attend the March msg summit as a US Assistant Secretary of State for East special guest; Australia is competing Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Camp- with Luxembourg—a fellow member bell later told congressional hearings of the UN Western European and that “we are actively exploring ways ­Others Group—for a rotating seat on to raise the level of our meetings with the UN Security Council in 2013. Taiwan” (Taiwan News 2011). A November 2011 report from the Solomon Islands announced in Australian Strategic Policy Institute March that it plans to establish an (aspi) argued that “there are grounds embassy in Havana, , while for believing that the bases of Aus- ­Vanuatu joined Nauru and Tuvalu tralia’s special relationship with the in recognizing the Russian-backed Pacific islands have been eroded.” regions of Abkhazia and South The report highlighted the region’s Ossetia, which Georgia considers dilemma over Fiji, arguing that the integral parts of the country (although way “pif-related sanctions are being Port Vila later reversed its decision). subverted by other organizations, ­Russian Foreign Minister Sergei including the spc, the ffa [Forum ­Lavrov visited Canberra, Auckland, Fisheries Agency] and even ramsi, and Suva in early 2012, with Fiji’s demonstrates the impracticalities of regime organizing a multilateral meet- the regional sanctions. They have ing between Lavrov and Island foreign proved dysfunctional for Australia and ministers. for its image in the region” (Herr and In Australia, the diplomatic and Bergin 2011, 59, 62). trade initiatives of “nontraditional” Canberra policy on the Bainima- players are prompting debate, with a rama coup was also discomforted by range of think-tank reports criticizing an opinion poll conducted in Fiji by the Julia Gillard government for its the Sydney-based Lowy Institute for political reviews • region in review 367

International Policy, which reported Guinea doubled user numbers in the that 66 percent of Fijians approved first six months of 2011 to 65,260 of the Bainimarama regime’s perfor- (Hayward-Jones, Cave, and Gaskin mance (Hayward-Jones 2011c). This 2011, 11–13). provoked a storm of debate over the Pacific governments have a poor process and validity of the poll, with record in terms of signing interna- sharp critiques from opponents of the tional human rights agreements and, regime (Narsey 2011), criticism from often, limited success in implementing Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for them. But rights-based social policy is Pacific Island Affairs (Marles 2011), a growing area of regional coordina- and a vigorous defense by the Lowy tion. The Forum has started a number Institute (Radio Australia 2011b). of initiatives under the Pacific Educa- By late 2011, the debate over Can- tion Development Framework and berra’s lack of direction led to criti- is implementing the Pacific Regional cism of Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Strategy on Disability, with pifs Dis- Rudd for ignoring the leadership ability Coordination Officer Frederick turmoil between Sir Michael Somare Miller coordinating support for an and Peter O’Neill in Port Moresby estimated 800,000 Pacific Islands (Callick 2012). people living with disabilities. In The Lowy Institute’s polling is December, the first regional meeting part of an increasing trend by donor, on deportees was held in Fiji to discuss media, and academic institutions. the social and legal implications for ramsi conducts a regular People’s hundreds of offenders deported to the Survey to gauge support for the Islands from Pacific Rim nations after regional mission, while the Pacific serving sentences for criminal offenses. Institute of Public Policy (pipp) in The struggle for women’s rights Port Vila conducted phone polling continues, with advocacy for an end across in March, with to gender-based violence, for bet- ­interesting results: over 75 percent ter economic rights, and for more of people surveyed supported inde- women in Parliament. After Forum pendence for West Papua but also leaders adopted policies on violence welcomed ties to Australia. A major- against women in 2009, the Forum ity of those surveyed in Papua New Secretariat established the Reference Guinea, Vanuatu, and Solomon Group to Address Sexual and Gender Islands thought relationships with Based Violence, which conducted its Australia were getting better, while first country visit to Tonga in March. in Fiji 42 percent thought they were The Pacific Network Against Violence getting worse (pipp 2011, iv). Public Against Women, linking women’s opinion is also influenced by the sig- centers across the region, continues its nificant spread of Internet technology, work on the ground. radio talkback, and blogging in urban In 2011, four countries had no centers across the region, especially women in Parliament (Solomon among the young: Fiji has nearly Islands, Tuvalu, Federated States of 158,000 Facebook users, Solomon Micronesia, and Nauru) and five coun- Islands has 18,920, while Papua New tries had only one (Vanuatu, Papua 368 the contemporary pacific • 24:2 (2012)

New Guinea, Tonga, , Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South and Cook Islands). After Forum Korea in November. research on women’s lack of parlia- All Small Islands States have mentary representation (Huffer and provided self-assessments of their others 2006), governments and wom- national planning, budgeting, and en’s organizations increased efforts to aid coordination, and throughout the secure more seats for women. year the Forum continued its series Drawing on France’s parity law, of peer reviews on aid effectiveness: which guarantees seats for women in Papua New Guinea, Sāmoa, and New New Caledonia and French Polynesia Zealand reviewed Vanuatu; Sāmoa, (Bargel, Guyon, and Rettig 2008), Nauru, and Australia reviewed Niue; Papua New Guinea initiated legisla- and Tonga, Vanuatu, and the United tion to create twenty-two seats for Nations Economic and Social Com- women in time for the 2012 national mission for Asia and the Pacific elections. In Kiribati, a three-day (unescap) reviewed Tuvalu. parliamentary training for female Trade policy continues to be a candidates was conducted in August major regional focus, with the Forum in advance of the November elections, Secretariat and the World Trade Orga- followed by a mock Parliament for nization (wto) convening a workshop Women, the first such initiative in the in Port Vila in May to enable “Par- region. A similar exercise followed in liamentarians and business repre- Marshall Islands in September, in the sentatives from several Pacific island lead-up to elections for the Nitijela countries to gain greater understand- (Marshallese legislature). ing of the multilateral trading system” These social initiatives rely on (pifs 2011g). donor funding, but getting aid to the After many years, 2011 saw the most vulnerable members of the com- conclusion of negotiations on wto munity is an ongoing problem. For accession by Sāmoa and Vanuatu. The smaller states like Tuvalu, 50 percent process was fraught in both coun- of whose gross domestic product is tries, with a major “Say No to wto” aid, there are major concerns about campaign in Vanuatu, widespread donor coordination: Tuvalu has fifty- community opposition to accession, eight development partners but only and the sacking of Minister of Justice seven staff in the government’s plan- and Social Affairs Ralph Regenvanu, ning office and one person in its Aid who refused to support cabinet policy Management Unit. in support of joining the World Trade Since the signing of the Cairns Organization. Compact on Strengthening Develop- With the Doha global trade nego- ment Coordination in the Pacific in tiations on hold, there was a new 2009, donors and Forum member attempt to revive regional negotiations countries have been focusing on aid with the European Union on a fair and effectiveness. This theme was high- comprehensive Economic Partnership lighted when Australia, New Zealand, Agreement (epa) (pifs 2011e). Trade and ten Island countries participated ministers met in Apia in February to in the Fourth High Level Forum on set regional trade priorities and in July, political reviews • region in review 369 negotiators submitted the draft pacp– and New Zealand have also drawn EU epa legal text and eight additional resources away from the epa, with market access offers to the European pacp trade negotiator Pulu stating, Commission. By the end of the year, “These negotiations have stretched the the pacp lead spokesperson, Tongan already limited capacity of Pacific acp Minister of Labour, Commerce, and States” (pifs 2011c). Industries ‘Isileli Pulu, committed the New Zealand trade academic Chris region to negotiating a comprehensive Noonan was appointed chief trade epa as a single region and concluding advisor at the 2009 Forum leaders’ the negotiations in 2012 (pifs 2011f). meeting in Cairns. After his appoint- However, while negotiations resume ment, however, there were tensions in 2012, prospects for a comprehen- between octa and pifs staff respon- sive deal are uncertain. The regional sible for trade policy. Noonan resigned epa was supposed to be finalized by in mid-2011, arguing, “There is a December 2007, and only Papua New need for Australia and New Zealand Guinea and Fiji have signed interim to decide what to put on the table. At agreements. There are a range of the moment, there is really nothing of contentious issues that have slowed value for the Forum Island Countries” negotiations, with the European Union (Maclellan 2011c). Scheduled nego- reluctant to take on Pacific demands tiations in November were deferred regarding labor mobility, the inter- as Noonan had not been replaced, pretation of “substantially all trade,” though former wto official Edwini most-favored-nation clauses, rules Kessie was formally appointed as chief of origin, and bilateral safeguards. trade advisor in early 2012. Forum Secretary General Slade noted, Another problem in the negotia- “Fisheries issues are one of the key tions is a lack of engagement from the contentious issues for the Pacific Australian government, even though region, and must be dealt with if we officials keep pushing pacer-Plus are to take the negotiations forward” along the rails. Minister for Trade (pifs 2011a). Craig Emerson did not attend the New efforts on epa negotiations 2011 Forum Trade Ministers’ Meet- were contrasted with problems for the ing, and pacer-Plus is not mentioned pacer-Plus negotiations with Aus- in the Gillard government’s new tralia and New Zealand. While talks international trade policy, even though continued, the proposed free trade trade reform has been a pillar of Aus- agreement is foundering, hit by a series tralia’s engagement with the Islands of delays and disputes, including the region since the late 1990s. Above resignation of the chief trade advisor, all, the dispute with the Fiji regime allegations of Australian bullying over continues to hamper talks, given that the funding of the Office of the Chief any serious move to promote regional Trade Advisor (octa) in Port Vila, ­economic integration must take and a recommendation from Forum account of Fiji’s key role in the region. officials that leaders reject a bid to Fisheries policy is increasingly inter- grant octa observer status with the connected with regional trade talks Forum. The trade talks with Australia and issues of environmental manage- 370 the contemporary pacific • 24:2 (2012) ment and security in the region’s vast the year. From January 2011, pna Exclusive Economic Zones (eezs). declared the high seas areas “closed” Within the epa negotiations, changes for any purse seine vessels licensed to Rules of Origin and global sourcing to fish in pna waters, increasing the for fresh and frozen fish are impor- value of resources within their eezs. tant objectives for some islands in the Beyond European and Asian deep- Pacific, with major players like Papua water fishing nations, US vessels have New Guinea working to maintain been exploiting the vast resources of their markets in Europe. tuna in the Pacific, supporting can- There were major developments ning in American Sāmoa and Cali- in 2011 with the regional coordina- fornia. In negotiations during 2011, tion bodies in fisheries: the Forum the US and Forum Island Countries Fisheries Agency (ffa) in ; began to ­renegotiate the South Pacific the eight-member Parties to the Nauru Tuna Treaty, which entered into Agreement (pna); and the new Polyne- force in 1988. In July, Port Moresby sian grouping Te Vaka Moana. With announced that it had invited China three Pacific countries already striking to become a partner in developing the bilateral agreements with European PNG fisheries industry—an incentive interests, there is a need to maintain for the United States to increase its common positions, especially from offer. the pna nations (Federated States of Papua New Guinea’s influence Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, in pna has seen the rise of the new Nauru, , Papua New Guinea, Polynesian grouping Te Vaka Moana, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu). Parties a largely Polynesian cooperation to the Nauru Agreement was formed initiative based on albacore tuna in 1982, only three years after the exploitation. The group includes New Forum Fisheries Agency was estab- Zealand, Sāmoa, Cook Islands, Niue, lished, but it did not become a formal Tokelau, and Tonga. intergovernmental organization until Throughout 2011, Island govern- 2010. It then created a permanent sec- ments were preparing for the UN Con- retariat with headquarters in Majuro, ference on Sustainable Development funded initially by Papua New Guinea (Rio+20), to be held in Brazil in June (which is responsible for about 40 2012 on the twentieth anniversary of percent of all fishery production in the the 1992 UN Conference on Environ- Pacific region by value). ment and Development. With Rio+20 Through pna, member states have focused on “green growth,” Pacific agreed on a number of measures governments have flagged growing aiming for sustainable management interest in the “blue economy” and of tuna stocks, including high seas the resources of the Pacific Ocean. closures, controls on Fish Aggregating A regional preparatory meeting for Devices (fads), 100 percent cover- Rio+20, held in Apia in July 2011, age of purse seine fishing vessels with adopted the theme of a “green econ- observers, and a “Vessel Day Scheme” omy in a blue world,” with Pacific under which pna countries agree on governments emphasizing the impor- a limited number of fishing days for tance of sustainable management of political reviews • region in review 371 oceans and the conservation of ocean such as the link between security and biodiversity and fisheries resources. climate change. On 3 June 2009, the In November, the Secretariat of the UN General Assembly unanimously Pacific Community and thirty-six adopted a resolution initiated by international research institutions Pacific diplomats on “Climate Change published a major study on the effects and Its Possible Security Implications.” of climate change on Pacific fisheries The follow-up resolution came before (Bell, Johnson, and Hobday 2011). the UN Security Council on 20 July Major powers are increasing 2011. Nauru’s then-president, Mar- regional security initiatives, with cus Stephen, and Australia’s Richard enhanced maritime surveillance opera- Marles both lobbied for action, with tions to detect illegal, unreported, and support from Ban Ki-moon (Stephen unregulated fishing. Australia, France, 2011). However, it was rejected by New Zealand, and the United States Russia and China, and Island embas- established the Quadrilateral Defense sies were disappointed that Security Coordination Group to coordinate Council members would not pass a and synchronize surveillance for the binding resolution that would prompt ffa and its members. Australia has further action. maintained its Pacific Patrol Boat pro- After an initial deadlock at the gram, while the US Coast Guard has December UN Framework Conven- negotiated “ship-rider” agreements tion on Climate Change negotiations with half of the ffa membership over in Durban, there were some positive the past two years. Regional coopera- outcomes: First, participants agreed tion includes exercises like the bien- to seek a second commitment period nial Operation Kurukuru, last held of the Kyoto Protocol and a mandate in November 2010, covering over 12 for a new binding agreement by 2015, million square kilometers of exclusive which would take effect in 2020; economic zones. second, they agreed to move ahead Alongside Fiji, Papua New Guinea with a Green Climate Fund and steady also became a UN Troop Contributing advances on Island priorities like a Country in 2011. With Australia pro- work program on Loss and Damage. viding pre-deployment and force prep- However, the new climate treaty aration training, Papua New Guinea proposed in Durban will take nearly Defense Force personnel deployed in a decade to come into force, with October to the UN Mission in South more time needed for ratification by Sudan and the African Union/United key countries. Many scientists have Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. stressed that postponing a new treaty More than twenty-five years after until 2020 will further derail hopes of their introduction, President Barack avoiding catastrophic climate change Obama called on the US Senate in in the coming decades. With developed May to ratify the protocols of the nations’ current commitments under South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Kyoto ending in December 2012, the Treaty (Maclellan 2011d). Mean- Canadian government has already while, Pacific diplomats continued to announced it will withdraw from the focus on twenty-first century concerns Kyoto Protocol. 372 the contemporary pacific • 24:2 (2012)

Australia and New Zealand con- Project Management Unit was set up tinue to provide the region with cru- at the Forum Secretariat to adminis- cial “fast-start” climate finance, drawn ter the pec Fund, and in June Sāmoa from aid budgets rather than the “new became the first country to access a and additional” funding pledged in us$4 million grant for a solar photo­ Copenhagen, but this support is not voltaic project. By October, Tuvalu matched by new commitments to and Cook Islands had also received reduce greenhouse gas emissions. After grants, with more to come in 2012. Durban, Australia—the world’s largest Sāmoa Ambassador to the United coal exporter—is unlikely to make States and Permanent Representative new commitments until a new treaty is to the United Nations Ali‘ioaiga Feturi finalized. Elisaia represented Small Island States The Durban summit provided new through 2011 on the Transitional evidence that many donors are not Committee for the Green Climate meeting their climate funding pledges: Fund, a new mechanism to chan- According to the ’s nel climate financing to developing Overseas Development Institute (odi), countries. Nauru’s UN Ambassador the global amount of climate finance Marlene Moses was also appointed as approved and disbursed in 2011 has chair of the Alliance of Small Island dropped compared to 2010: approved States. These are examples of better funding fell from us$2.34 billion to coordination and activity by Island us$1.8 billion, and disbursed funding ambassadors at the United Nations, from us$502 million to us$398 mil- supported by Papua New Guinea’s lion (odi 2011, 1). Kiribati President Robert Aisi, Fiji’s Peter Thomson, Anote Tong lamented delays in the and former Vanuatu Prime Minister provision of climate financing, telling Donald Kalpokas. the UN General Assembly: “Kiribati In September, the Asia Group was one of the countries which did not within the United Nations formally sign the Copenhagen Accord because changed its name to the “Group of of what we saw as its serious short- Asia and the Pacific Small Island comings but [we] were subsequently Developing States,” a reflection of new persuaded to associate ourselves with diplomatic vibrancy and growing links it on the premise that doing so would between Forum Island Countries and trigger the flow of much needed adap- Asian powers. As the aspi regionalism tation funds which had been pledged. report noted: “The increased promi- We continue to await these funds” nence of psids [Pacific Small Island (Tong 2011). Developing States] derives from the Pacific governments are mov- fics’ preference for a form of engage- ing forward with renewable energy ment that excludes Australia and New programs, especially with funding Zealand, which would be included in through Japan’s Pacific Environment any discussions under the pif banner” Community (pec) Fund. In 2005, (Herr and Bergin 2011, 23). Japan pledged grants of 6.8 billion Finally, to end 2011 in a timely yen (us$66 million) for solar power fashion, Sāmoa and Tokelau changed or desalination plants. In April a pec days on the last day of the year, cross- political reviews • region in review 373 ing westward over the international Hayward-Jones, Jenny. 2011a. Fiji at date line and removing Friday, 30 Home and in the World: Public Opinion December 2011, from their history. and Foreign Policy. Sydney: Lowy Institute. Aren’t there always some days you http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication wish had never happened? .asp?pid=1690 ______. 2011b. Policy Overboard: nic maclellan ­Australia’s Increasingly Costly Fiji Drift. Policy brief, May. Sydney: Lowy Institute. http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication References .asp?pid=1571 Bargel, Lucie, Stéphanie Guyon, and ______. 2011c. Rudd Takes His Eye Off Isabella Savelina Rettig. 2008. Mission Pacific Islands. The Australian, 22 March. d’évaluation de l’application de la loi sur la Hayward-Jones, Jenny, Danielle Cave, and parité en Nouvelle-Calédonie, en Polynésie Michael Gaskin. 2011. The Pacific Islands française, et à Wallis et Futuna. Report, and the World: Realising the Pacific’s April June . Noumea: Secretariat of – 2007 Potential Perspectives. Outcomes Report, the Pacific Community. Lowy Institute Conference, September. Bell, Johann D, Johanna E Johnson, and Sydney: Lowy Institute. Alistair J Hobday, editors. . Vulner- 2011 Herr, Richard. 2010. Time for a Fresh ability of Tropical Pacific Fisheries and Approach: Australia and Fiji Relations Aquaculture to Climate Change. Noumea: Post-abrogation. Special Report 27, South Pacific Commission. http://www.spc January. Barton, act: Australian Strategic .int/climate-change/fisheries/assessment/ Policy Institute. Bohane, Ben. 2010. Island Dreaming: Herr, Richard, and Anthony Bergin. 2011. A Fresh Look at Pacific Regionalism. Our Near Abroad: Australia and Pacific Discussion Paper 15. Port Vila: Pacific Islands Regionalism. Barton, act: Austra- Institute for Public Policy. lian Strategic Policy Institute. Callick, Rowan. 2012. Rudd’s Itinerary Huffer, Elise, and others. 2006. Anywhere but PNG. The Australian, A Woman’s Place Is in the House—The 4 February. House of Parliament: Research to Advance Women’s Representation in Forum Island Fiji Ministry of Information. 2011. msg Countries; A Regional Study Presented in Welcomes Timor and Indonesia. Media Five Reports. Suva: Pacific Islands Forum release, Ministry of Information, National ­Secretariat. Archives and Library Services of Fiji, 19 February. Lesa, Mata‘afa Keni. 2011. Polynesian Alliance Likely. Samoa Observer, Forum Communiqué 2011. Communiqué 21 September. of the 42nd meeting of Pacific Islands Forum leaders, Auckland, September. Maclellan, Nic. 2011a. Colonies or ­Territories? Islands Business, October. French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2007. The Oceania region and Regional Cooper- ______.2011b. Island Leaders Drowned ation Organizations. Oceania country file, Out At Forum. Pacnews, 14 September. French Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, http://www.pina.com.fj/?p=pacnews&m http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country =read&o=8811510234e703d80fa0549 -files/oceania/ c407285 374 the contemporary pacific • 24:2 (2012)

______. 2011c. pacer-Plus in Trouble Trade Negotiations. pifs press statement as Trade Advisor Resigns. Islands Business 62/11, 8 August. (website only), 5 September. http://www ______. b. Fong Toy New Deputy .islandsbusiness.com/news/index 2011 Secretary General. press statement _dynamic/containerNameToReplace pifs 39/11, 1 June. =MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=130/ focusContentID=25338/tableName ______. 2011c. Pacific Committed to =mediaRelease/overideSkinName Conclude epa with EU. pifs press state- =newsArticle-full.tpl ment 106/11, 16 December. ______. 2011d. Riding High, Obama ______. 2011d. Pacific Islands Forum Acts on Nuclear Free Zones. The and Secretariat Relevant. pifs press state- ­Interpreter, 23 May. http://www ment 76/11, 5 September. .lowyinterpreter.org/post/2011/05/23/ ______.2011e. Pacific Plan: Master Riding-high-Obama-acts-on-nuclear-free Strategy for Regional Cooperation and -zones.aspx Integration. pifs press statement 68/11, Marles, Richard. 2011. Why the Pacific 16 August. Matters. Lowy Lecture by Parliamentary ______. 2011f. Pacific Region Pushes Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, 28 Sep- On: Renewed Impetus Sought for Eco- tember. http://ministers.dfat.gov.au/marles/ nomic Partnership Agreement with EU. speeches/ /rm_sp_ .html 2011 110928 pifs press statement 4/11, 31 January. McLeod, Jason. 2011. Statement regarding ______. 2011g. Parliamentarians Attend the shooting of civilians in Abepura, Jaya­ wto Workshop. pifs press statement pura, on Wednesday, 19 October 2011. 34/11, 13 May. Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, 26 October. http://www pipp, Pacific Institute of Public Policy. .r2pasiapacific.org/documents/APR2P 2011. Melanesia pipp poll results, March. %20Statement%20on%20West%20Papua http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en .pdf &q=Pacific+Institute+of+Public+Policy +%2B+Vila+%2B+opinion+survey+%2B Narsey, Wadan. 2011. Shoddy Tebutt +April+2011&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq. Opinion Poll by the Lowy Institute. ­Intelligentsiya blog, 9 September. Radio Australia. 2011a. Fiji to Join Non- http://intelligentsiya.blogspot.com.au/ Aligned Movement This Month. Radio 2011/09/dr-wadan-narsey-shoddy-tebutt Australia News, 4 May. -opinion.html ______. 2011b. Lowy Institute Responds odi, Overseas Development Institute. to Criticism of Survey on Fiji Issues. 2011. Mobilising Climate Finance: A Few Pacific Beat program, 6 October. Fundamentals to Consider. odi blog posts, Stephen, Marcus. 2011. On Nauru, a 8 December. http://www.odi.org.uk/ Sinking Feeling. New York Times op-ed, opinion/details.asp?id=6177&title 18 July. =mobilising-climate-finance-cop17-unfccc Stuff. 2011. Samoan pm: Bainimarama pif leaders and UN Secretary-General Lying on Elections. Stuff (New Zealand), Ban Ki-moon. 2011. Joint Statement. 26 July. Auckland, 7 September. Taiwan News. 2011. US Seeking Ways pifs, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. to Raise Level of Meetings with Taiwan: 2011a. Fisheries Remain Key to Pacific Campbell. 4 October. political reviews • region in review 375

Tong, Anote. 2011. Statement by Anote Sāmoa, 66th Session of the United Tong, President of Kiribati, 66th Session Nations General Assembly, New York, of the United Nations General Assembly, 24 September. New York, 23 September. Vanuatu Independent. 2011. Korea, Pacific Tuilaepa. 2011. Statement by Tuilaepa Islands to Boost Cooperation in Develop- Sa‘ilele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of ment and Climate Change. 5 June.