Pacific islanders turn to Asia and court China
By Michael Christie
SYDNEY (Reuters): The Irian Jaya separatist movement is serenading Beijing in its bid to win international support for independence from Indonesia, believing that China's growing economic clout gives it Pacific superpower potential.
The courtship of China is part of a regionwide trend that some security analysts think could turn the South Pacific into a new Cold War arena, as Sino-U.S. tensions follow the standoff between the West and the former Soviet Union.
Franzalbert Joku, international affairs moderator for the Papua Council Presidium -- an umbrella group for Irian Jayan independence movements -- said the council had already discussed Beijing's support with Chinese officials.
"It's no secret. We realize that these processes will eventually end up in the United Nations where China as a powerful nation also wields a considerable influence," Joku told Reuters from New Zealand, where he was on a diplomacy tour.
"Our intention of seeking out Chinese help ... is nothing different to us going to Canberra or Wellington or Tokyo or Washington D.C.," he said.
"We want the international community to hear our grievances and give us support where appropriate and China is not just another member of the international community, China is very, very significant in our immediate region."
Irian Jaya, also known as West Papua, is but one resource-rich Indonesian province wanting to break away following East Timor's long but eventually successful independence struggle.
The Chinese embassy in Canberra rejected suggestions that Beijing was meddling in Jakarta's internal affairs. It added it supported Indonesia's territorial integrity.
Joku said the Chinese government had not yet indicated any sympathy for West Papua's Melanesian cause.
But some see the West Papuan wooing of China as symptomatic of a move by small island nations to lessen their dependence on Australia, the United States and the West and turn to Northeast Asia, where they feel they will get a more sympathetic hearing.
Fiji's interim prime minister Laisenia Qarase has lashed out at Western nations he accused of bullying Fiji over an anti- Indian coup in his country last year.
China meanwhile has given military aid to Tonga and uniforms and logistical support to Papua New Guinea's defense force. A few years back, the Chinese army set up a satellite base in Kiribati.
Sir Mekere Morauta, prime minister of Irian Jaya's neighbor Papua New Guinea, is currently in China for a visit.
"This is my first official visit to any country and this visit signifies the importance we attach to China," Morauta said before leaving.
Aid officials familiar with the region say it makes sense for Pacific island states to seek as many friends as possible.
Australian diplomats for their part say China has been a major player in the South Pacific for 20 years, often battling Taipei's dollar diplomacy which grants aid for recognition.
They add they would welcome Beijing as a "partner" in regional development, despite reports that Canberra is concerned about China's growing presence in Australia's backyard.
Yet some regional security experts spy the seeds of future tensions as geopolitics begins to spin around Sino-U.S. ties and the South Pacific becomes a potential playing field.
Benjamin Reilly, research fellow in political science at the Australian National University, said the military aid to the region appeared to go beyond China's traditional diplomatic operation to contain recognition for Taiwan.