Political Reviews

Political Reviews The Region in Review: International Issues and Events, 2017 nic maclellan Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2017 volker boege, mathias chauchat, alumita durutalo, joseph daniel foukona, budi hernawan, michael leach, james stiefvater The Contemporary Pacic, Volume 30, Number 2, 461–547 © 2018 by University of Hawai‘i Press 461 The Region in Review: International Issues and Events, 2017 It was the best of times, it was the change, security, and fisheries, the worst of times. theme echoed the vision of the late Epeli Hau‘ofa by lauding the inter- In 2017, Pacific collective diplomacy connections of the liquid continent reached new heights, with Island (Waddell, Naidu, and Hau‘ofa 1993). nations campaigning on the oceans, At the Forum’s opening ceremony climate change, and nuclear disar- in Apia, host Prime Minister Tui- mament through the Pacific Small laepa Sailele Malielegaoi said: “The Island Developing States (psids). Fiji Blue Pacific provides a new narrative completed its presidency of the UN for Pacific regionalism and how the General Assembly, cohosted the first Forum engages with the world. It global conference on the oceans, and will require a different way of work- took up the presidency of cop23— ing together that prioritizes The Blue the 23rd Conference of the Parties of Pacific as the core driver of Forum the UN Framework Convention on policymaking and collective action” Climate Change. (Tuilaepa 2017a). At the same time, the US adminis- Throughout 2017, Pacific gov- tration under President Donald Trump ernments promoted the Blue Pacific announced—often through tweets— agenda on the international stage. policies on climate change, nuclear Holding the presidency of the United weapons, and maritime law that Nations General Assembly (unga) rolled back the achievements of years in 2016–2017—an unprecedented of patient international diplomacy. achievement for an Island nation— With uncertainty over the post-2020 Fiji’s Ambassador Peter Thomson relationship with the European Union, used his position to raise interna- growing Chinese power, and adverse tional awareness of regional concerns. climate policies from Canberra, it was Completing his ambassadorship in a difficult year for Pacific regionalism. September, Thomson was appointed As the Pacific Community (spc) as the first UN special envoy for marked its 70th anniversary, key the ocean by UN Secretary-General regional initiatives—from ramsi to António Guterres. pacer-Plus negotiations—came to an Action around the oceans was a end. At the same time, regional orga- central regional priority. Secretary- nizations struggled with their attitude General of the Pacific Islands Forum toward independence for the remain- Dame Meg Taylor, who also serves as ing Pacific territories. Pacific Oceans commissioner, noted: The central theme of the Septem- “A healthy Pacific Ocean means a ber 2017 Forum leaders’ meeting prosperous Pacific people. The ocean was “The Blue Pacific—Our Sea of is integral to our cultures, well-being Islands.” Drawing together regional and economic growth” (Fiji Sun priorities on the oceans, climate 2017). 462 political reviews • region in review 463 In 2015, as the United Nations United States and France. The 2016 adopted seventeen new Sustainable decision to include French Polynesia Development Goals (sdgs), Pacific and New Caledonia as full members governments successfully pushed for of the Forum has raised difficult a specific goal on the oceans and seas. issues for agencies in the Council of sdg14 pledges action to “conserve Regional Organizations of the Pacific and sustainably use the oceans, seas (crop), in some of which France is and marine resources for sustainable not a member. Some fisheries officials development” (UN 2017a). have raised concern that confidential To implement sdg14, Fiji and positions on the management and Sweden cohosted the high-level UN conservation of tuna have been com- Conference on the Oceans and Seas in promised with the effective inclusion New York in June 2017. This confer- of France—through its Pacific collec- ence issued a call for action, highlight- tivities—as an ffa member (Maclellan ing action on ocean acidification, 2018). plastics, and overfishing. By the end Transform Aqorau, the former chief of the conference, 1,328 voluntary executive officer of the Parties to the commitments had been registered by Nauru Agreement (pna), expressed governments, UN bodies, nongovern- concern over France’s new influence: ment organizations, private corpo- “I know that the ffa membership rations, and others, far exceeding is deeply concerned about the impli- expectations. Pacific governments now cations of sharing the same room hope to update the UN Convention on with France in Pacific Island tuna the Law of the Sea (unclos) through discussions, and this issue was dis- talks on a new agreement on conserva- cussed at great lengths at the recent tion and sustainable use of biological Pacific Fisheries Ministers’ meeting diversity in areas beyond national in the Gold Coast. there is now a jurisdictions. perception that the ffa’s position has The Oceans Conference also pro- been compromised” (Pareti 2017). vided a platform to draw attention pna held their annual officials to Pacific fisheries policy. Director meeting in April in Majuro and a min- General of the Forum Fisheries Agency isterial meeting in July in Queensland. (ffa) James Movick noted: “More pna chief executive officer Ludwig than any other UN Conference, this Kumoru said that the organization’s is one event where the Pacific nations priority remains adding value to are coming to demonstrate their global fisheries and increasing revenues for leadership of the issue on the table. Island nations. Revenue to the Islands They are coming to talk Oceans, and from the purse seine skipjack fish- the Pacific lessons and achievements ery has increased from nearly us$60 when it comes to sustainable tuna fish- million in 2010 to us$400 million in eries management” (Fiji Sun 2017). 2016 (ffa 2017a). Despite these eco- But this cooperation is compli- nomic benefits, fish stocks are under cated by the influence of Distant pressure as dwfn expand their opera- Water Fishing Nations (dwfn) and tions, although the latest report card colonial powers in the region like the on fisheries assessed that the bigeye 464 the contemporary pacific • 30:2 (2018) tuna stock is not overfished, as previ- out the world” (Bainimarama 2017). ously reported (ffa 2017b, 2). Tuvalu’s Enele Sopoaga also noted: Throughout 2017, despite head- “It is simple arrogance, meaning at winds blowing from Washington and the end of the day, it’s the money Canberra, Pacific Island nations sailed issue that is driving climate change” ahead to address the adverse effects of (Qounadovu 2017). climate change. Throughout the year, Island states Announcing an a$6 million (us$4.7 coordinated their efforts in the lead-up million) grant and key staff to the sec- to the annual global climate negotia- retariat in Suva that managed prepara- tions. With Prime Minister Bainima- tions for cop23, Australian Senator rama absent from the Forum leaders’ Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said: “We meeting in September, Fiji’s Ambas- are at the coal face here in the Pacific sador Amena Yauvoli hosted a sidebar of dealing with issues consequent to event to discuss regional priorities for climate events” (Pacific Beat 2017). It cop23. The Pacific Climate Change was an unfortunate choice of words, Roundtable, held on 4–5 October, since many Pacific Islanders are hop- announced a center of excellence for ing that Australia will step away from Pacific climate action in Apia, at the the coal face! Secretariat of the Pacific Regional As Australian Ambassador for Environment Programme (sprep) Climate Change Patrick Suckling campus. The Pacific Climate Change visited Suva in February for bilateral Centre will serve as the Pacific Meteo- talks with the Bainimarama govern- rological Council’s primary train- ment, the Pacific Islands Climate ing and partnership provider for the Action Network (pican) issued an region. The 2017 Pre-cop Ministerial open letter challenging Australia’s Dialogue was then held in Nadi on plans for new coal mines and exports 17–18 October. (pican 2017). In May, President Hilda The culmination of all this prepara- Heine of the Republic of the Marshall tion came in November, as Fiji pre- Islands (RMI) was openly critical of sided over cop23 in Bonn, Germany— Australian climate policy in a speech the first time a Pacific Island nation in Canberra: “Now is not the time had played that role. to be debating the science, trashing Despite raising the profile of Fiji solar power, or building new coal and the Pacific, cop23 saw major set- mines. I can assure you it does backs for some key regional priorities. influence the way Australia is viewed Analysts noted that “the final decision in the Pacific” (Heine 2017). on Loss and Damage is hopelessly In June, Fiji, Marshall Islands, weak” and the outcome of the climate Tuvalu, and other nations also criti- finance negotiations “were predictably cized President Trump’s decision to unremarkable” (Schalatek, Fuhr, and pull out of the Paris Agreement on Lehr 2017). Over the next year, Fiji Climate Change. Fiji Prime Minister will continue in the cop presidency, Voreqe Bainimarama called the deci- opening the way for a 2018 “Talanoa sion “deeply disappointing for the Dialogue” to feed into the 2019 cop, citizens of vulnerable nations through- “which will hopefully build enhanced political reviews • region in review 465 trust to increase ambition for both pillar of the Obama administration’s mitigation and support in the post- containment policy—the Trans-Pacific 2020 period” (Schalatek, Fuhr, and Partnership Agreement. Threatening Lehr 2017). “fire and fury” against the people of In Bonn, there was also frank dis- Korea, Trump sought support from cussion about keeping coal and other Pacific allies to pressure the Kim fossil fuels in the ground in order to Jong-un regime on nuclear prolifera- reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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