Wen Jiabao (
Wen starts his trip in Fiji where he will meet leaders from eight island nations in the tourist town of Nadi for the first ever China-Pacific Islands Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum.
But six island nations which recognize Taiwan instead of China will be missing, highlighting the long-running competition for recognition between Beijing and Taipei in the region.
Only 26 countries recognize Taiwan, and nearly a quarter of them are from the Pacific.
The evidence of the rivalry is everywhere in the Pacific.
Samoa's largest building, the five-story government office, was built with Chinese aid. Dollar diplomacy by both Beijing and Taipei is responsible for many buildings, agriculture projects and other initiatives across the region.
Taiwan's supporters include some of the poorest and smallest countries in the region -- Nauru, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands. Some have shifted alliances a number of times and become adept at virtually auctioning themselves off to the highest bidder.
Both China and Taiwan have been accused of interfering in the political process in island countries by handing out cash to their favored politicians.
The allegations have been made against Taiwan most recently in the current Solomon Islands election campaign but denied by Taipei and the Solomons government.
Associate professor John Henderson of Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand, said China's new diplomatic push was partly aimed at preventing Taiwan getting any further recognition in the region but it goes beyond that.
"The main thing is symbolism. China taking its leadership role in the region seriously," he said.
"They want to get recognition of a country which is certainly destined to play a major role in the region. It's recognition of an emerging major power."
The traditional powers in the region -- the US and Europe, Australia, New Zealand -- have to learn to work alongside China, and island countries have another option for aid and political support, he said.
China has been gaining influence in the Pacific for many years, with a regular procession of Pacific Islands politicians getting five-star treatment during visits to Beijing.
"There have been more Pacific Islands minister visits to China than to any other country," said University of the South Pacific emeritus professor Ron Crocombe.
He said the engagement with China was part of the region turning increasingly to Asia, with Japan also increasing its diplomacy though efforts including the annual summit between Tokyo and regional leaders.
"The whole balance of power is going to swing to Asia," Crocombe said.
Most Pacific towns have an established Chinese population and they have been joined by a new wave of immigrants in the last two decades. Some came as a result of passport selling schemes by countries such as Tonga, Nauru and the Marshall Islands in the 1990s.
Concerns have been raised about a number of criminals among the newer arrivals. These were heightened in Fiji in 2004 when several Chinese were arrested in Suva after a police raid on the largest methamphetamine laboratory ever discovered in the southern hemisphere.
The main focus of the conference will be on economic cooperation and China is already active in fisheries, while a few of the larger island countries also offer timber and mineral resources.
In January, resource-hungry China and Papua New Guinea signed a deal to develop the latter's gas reserves and late last year also agreed to develop a cobalt and nickel mine. Trade between the island countries and China grew 58 percent to US$838 million last year, according to Chinese figures.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we