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Sonia’s
Delegate Note on the Asia-Pacific Island Nations Summit II,
Taipei, Taiwan, June 7-9, 2006.
The Asia-Pacific Island Nations Summit II was held in Taipei,
Taiwan, from June 7-9, 2006, under the aegis of the
Universal Peace Federation. Representatives from 23
countries including Taiwan, Australia, India, New Zealand,
Palau, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea dialogued on “Partnership,
Peacebuilding and Sustainable Development” in the region.
That the conference was held in Taipei was significant.
Taiwan (R.O.C) is a fast developing country, keen to build
mutually beneficial relationships with Asia-Pacific islands to
promote peace and trade in the region. Addressing delegates in
her office, Vice President Annette Lu pointed out the importance
of cooperation between nations with shared “democratic values.”
Taiwan’s determination not to suffer isolation, despite being
shut out of the United Nations since 1971 on the rationale that
there is only “One China,” has encouraged its diplomatic and
economic ambitions. Today it is a leading producer of high
quality technology goods, a major aid donor and foreign
investor, particularly in the Asia-Pacific, and holds the
world’s third largest foreign exchange reserves. The summit was
held in the backdrop of some political turmoil however, as
President Chen Shui-bian faced a recall motion following an
insider-trading scandal involving his son-in-law.
Taiwan’s
greatest concern remains its relationship with China. Says Dr.
Chuan-fong Chang, International Educational Foundation, Taiwan,
“The diplomatic war has not diminished in relation to increasing
interaction and exchange across the Strait in the economic,
cultural, and political spheres. On the contrary, it has become
even fiercer than before. Recent incidents have brought things
almost to the brink of war once or twice.” As China’s regional
dominance increases, so do Taiwan’s concerns that China will
strengthen its plans for unification. This complex equation was
one of the most examined of the conference.
In his
inaugural speech, Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak, Chairman, UPF, stated, “One concern is the power and influence of larger nations in the
region, the so-called superpowers. Although the Cold War era has
passed, the pursuit of national self interest remains strong.
Many very powerful nations are seeking to influence smaller
nations, and often their motives are not altogether altruistic.”
Dr. Mark P. Barry, Director, UPF, pointed out however, “We are
not in a new Cold War. … It is to be expected that a nation of
1.3 billion people with a booming economy and a growing
technological capability should take its rightful place in a
multipolar world.”
That the Summit
reflected current widespread interests was demonstrated by two
recent statements by global figures—futurist Alvin Toffler (People’s
Daily, June 16, 2006), and the Dalai Lama (European
Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, May 31, 2006).
Toffler pointed
out, “I can still remember when, a few years ago, The
Economist magazine had a cover story entitled "China
Superpower 2020". That became a cliché in the West. It implied
that China was on a straight-line course to becoming the world's
most dominant nation. But it is far too simple and naive to
think about the straight-line development. China, like
everywhere else, will undoubtedly experience dramatic ups and
downs in its future. That might include internal conflict. …
The question is how do you manage that conflict so that it
doesn't become violent. That is the question facing China
today.” The Dalai Lama, while acknowledging that China had taken
positive steps towards improving its human rights record,
reiterated, “In order to become a genuine superpower, China
needs … moral authority."
It isn’t just
China, but present superpowers like the United States and Japan,
whose influence in the Asia-Pacific enabled lively debate at the
conference. Small island nations are rich in minerals, timber,
and oil. They exercise control over strategic shipping routes
and fishing rights, and act as supply and docking bases. As a
result, they are constantly wooed by bigger countries, which
offer protection, trade and aid in exchange. According to one
expert, the small Pacific islands are “dependent,
to an unusual degree, on imported goods and services,
including foodstuffs, fuel, equipment and industrial material as
well as a wide range of manufactured products. Exports are a
vital source of foreign exchange and cash income generation,
employment and growth.”
However in this relationship, it is always the bigger country which has the
upper hand, sometimes to the economic, ecological, even cultural
detriment of the smaller one.
Johnson Toribiong, Palau’s Ambassador to Taiwan, pointed out that his
island nation had gone from being a colony of Spain, Germany,
and Japan to evolving into a virtual protectorate of the US—a
situation both nations find beneficial. However, he added, with
US preoccupation in the Middle East increasing, there was a
vacuum of leadership in the Asia-Pacific. Dr. Thomas G. Walsh,
Secretary General, UPF, summed up the ideal response to this
precarious situation: “Island nations must work together and
form a stronger alliance for the sake of peace. Their concerns
should not be just the influence of the superpowers, but also of
climate change, global warming, sustainable development, HIV,
and cultural identity.” Walsh reiterated one of the core themes
of the UPF, “Our relationship with God is of utmost importance.
Everything is related to love, life and lineage.” Toribiong
expanded on this theme: “All world conflicts arise from a desire
to take more than the world can give. This struggle for more
power, of greed and for land, creates conflicts. We should value
values, not valuables.
The Summit’s emphasis on sustainable development was another
topic of deep interest to the smaller island nations. High Chief
Vaasiliifiti Moelagi Jackson from Western Samoa told her rapt
audience, “Small islands are dependant on big nations and
international aid organisations for funding. But development
strategies must come from the small nations itself; they should
not be imposed, because that will only affect island culture.”
Dr Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, Executive Director, Centre for
Asia-Pacific Area Studies, Taiwan, averred, “The deepening of
island identity is very important. All alliances should be based
on collaboration. The question is how do you balance economical
development with environmental protection? Economic
vulnerability with ecological volubility? Island nations have to
work with their environments, protect their cultural heritage
even as they promote sustainable development.”
That the time to define the relationship between the superpowers
and the island nations it seeks to align with, is now, and that
the island nations in turn must come together to collectively
ensure peace, development, and a greater say in their region
appeared to be the consensus of the Summit. For their
prosperity, the nations must, delegates of the Summit concurred,
build a sustainable partnership aiming for a common free trade
area, supra-national institutions, and the harmonization of
economic development and cultural preservation.
Know More About the Universal Peace Federation.
India and China
India and China
have had a delicate diplomatic relationship since the 1962
border war, which is considered to have been won by China.
Border disputes have continued since then, as have Indian
accusations of China’s support of Pakistan, and China’s distrust
of India’s alleged support to the Dalai Lama. Nevertheless, the
world’s two most populous countries and booming economies are
deeply interested in sharing a mutually beneficial trade and
economic relationship. This was reiterated in 2005, after
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India on a four-day tour, and
the two nations signed a “strategic parterneship” described by
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a step towards
“reshaping the world order.”
Singh wasn’t alone in this belief. In 2004, a US National
Intelligence Council study had stated that "In the same way that
commentators refer to the 1900s as the American Century, the
early 21st century may be seen as the time when some in the
developing world, led by India and China, come into their own. …
India "could emerge as the world's fastest-growing economy by
2020, overtaking China.” More recently, in June, 2006, India’s
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee pointed out, “Neither do we
consider them a threat to us nor do they consider us a threat to
them. There is enough space for both to grow in their own areas.
… Over the years both countries have realised they cannot alter
their neighbourhood. If we have to live together, it is better
to live in peace. … I agree that China's economic growth and
economic strength is more compared with India's but the
impression that they have outpaced us in the region or on the
world stage is not correct. They are playing their role and we
are playing ours." |
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