06/21/2022
China’s most recent efforts to secure a deal with Pacific Island states is only the latest iteration of Beijing’s grander strategy for the region. Over the last three decades, China has gradually sought to expand its political, economic, and military influence across the Indo-Pacific. Although the South Pacific is not on top of Beijing’s geostrategic priorities, particularly when compared to the South China Sea and Southeast Asia, the region holds immense strategic value to any power seeking to exert its influence over the Indo-Pacific and East Asia.
China’s most recent efforts to secure a deal with Pacific Island states is only the latest iteration of Beijing’s grander strategy for the region. Over the last three decades, China has gradually sought to expand its political, economic, and military influence across the Indo-Pacific. Although t...