JOIN USSecretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed the United States would remain active in the South Pacific for the “long haul” but said the region was big enough for a rising China.
Clinton announced some $32 million in new aid projects as she became the first US secretary of state to take part in an annual South Pacific summit, in a sign of renewed interest in the vast but often overlooked region.
Clinton’s visit comes as many islands forge closer ties with China, which according to Australia’s Lowy Institute has pledged more than $600 million in low-interest and mostly strings-free loans to the South Pacific since 2005.
Clinton, who will visit Beijing next week for talks on the often fractious relationship between the world’s two largest economies, played down rivalries in the South Pacific. “We welcome the opportunity to work with your development partners — Japan, the European Union, China,” she told leaders from the 15-nation Pacific Islands Forum. “We all have important contributions and stakes in the region’s success to advance your security, your opportunity and your prosperity. I think, after all, the Pacific is big enough for all of us,” she said.
Clinton pointed to US involvement in World War II and argued that the US military has helped underwrite stability in the Asia-Pacific region.