Why in news?
- Recently, PM Modi paid his maiden visit to Papua New Guinea where he co-hosted the 3rdFIPIC summit.
- His visit to Papua New Guinea highlights the growing strategic significance of the Pacific Island nations that has also received attention from China.
- In 2022, China signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands.
- During this visit, PM Modi conferred with the:
- highest honour of Fiji - the Companion of the Order of Fiji;
- highest award of Papua New Guinea - the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL).
What’s in today’s article?
- Pacific Island Nations
- News Summary
Pacific Island Nations
- Islands of the Pacific Ocean are commonly named as Pacific Island Nations.
- As shown in the map, Pacific Island Nations consist of three major groups of islands named as Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.
- North of the Equator and east of the Philippines are the islands of Micronesia.
- The great arc of islands located north and east of Australia and south of the Equator is called Melanesia.
- In the eastern Pacific, largely enclosed within a huge triangle formed by the Hawaiian Islands to the north, New Zealand to the southwest, and Easter Island (Rapa Nui) far to the east, are the islands of Polynesia.
Challenges faced by Pacific Island Nations
- Geographical disadvantage
- Scattered Islands –makes logistics a challenge.
- Small Land Area – It affects the mass production.
- Remoteness - The Pacific Islands are located far from major markets, creating problems in communication, human interaction and transportation costs.
- Climate change:
- These nations are virtual global laboratories for the earliest impacts of climate change.
- World Bank research has estimated the average annual cost to small island states from natural disasters is equivalent to almost two percent of GDP.
- However, in the cases of Tonga and Samoa, these damages have reached between 20 and 30 percent of GDP.
- Socio-economic challenges:
- Due to small economies and limited formal sector employment in the Pacific, it will be difficult to meet this growing demand for employment.
- Years of mismanagement and poor policy have led to ecological and energy calamities across the region.
- Security and Governance related challenges:
- Vast coastline along with the presence of large EEZ (exclusive economic zone) necessitates for capacity building in Coastal security and EEZ management.
- Numerous maritime disputes on the periphery of Pacific, especially in South China Sea and East China Sea, threaten the maritime security of these nations.
Significance of Pacific Island Nations for India:
- Geopolitical
- The Pacific Island Nations are strategically located in the Pacific Ocean, connecting Asia with the Americas.
- Geostrategic
- The Pacific has for long been an area of geostrategic interest for countries such as the US, Japan, China, Russia etc.
- India cannot afford to ignore this region if it wants to become a global leader.
- India considers the region as part of its Indo-Pacific vision, which emphasizes a free, open, and inclusive order.
- Economic Cooperation:
- India seeks to expand economic cooperation with Pacific Island Nations.
- Indian economic footprint in this region is low. The total annual trade between the Indian and Pacific Island countries hovers around $300 million.
- The largest country for bilateral trade in this regard is Papua New Guinea because of oil and gas.
- These nations possess vast maritime resources, including fisheries, minerals, and energy reserves.
- Maritime Security:
- Ensuring maritime security in the Indo-Pacific is a shared interest for India and Pacific Island Nations.
Initiatives taken by India so far
- Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC):
- FIPIC was launched during PM Modi's visit to Fiji in November 2014.
- It was established as a platform for dialogue and cooperation with 14 Pacific Island countries.
- FIPIC includes 14 of the island countries – Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
- So far, two meetings of FIPIC were held - in November 2014 in Fiji and August 2015 in Jaipur.
- Development Assistance
- These include:
- the setting up of a special USD one million fund for adapting to climate change and clean energy,
- Pan Pacific Islands e-network to improve digital connectivity,
- extending visa on arrival at Indian airports for all the 14 Pacific Island countries,
- cooperation in space technology applications for improving the quality of life of the islands, and
- training to diplomats from Pacific Island countries.
- India has already trained many rural women from eight island countries as solar engineers.
News Summary: Key highlights of the PM Modi’s speech at the FIPIC III Summit
- Highlighted the importance of Pacific Island Countries (PICs)
- He said that Small Island nations of the Pacific Ocean are in fact large ocean states and they are connected with India through Ocean.
- India as development partner of PICs
- He highlighted some of the development works done by India in the region. These included:
- Convention Center in Palau;
- Waste management project in Nauru;
- Seeds for cyclone-affected farmers in Fiji;
- And solar light project in Kiribati.
- The Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research Institute (SCORI) has been established at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji with the help of India.
- SCORI entails building up a network of marine biology research stations in various island nations in the Pacific Ocean to collaborate on research and capacity building with institutions in India.
- Increased space cooperation
- PM Modi expressed his happiness that the launch of the website for space technology is taking place for national and human development.
- Through this, respective PICs can download remote sensing data of their countries from the Indian satellite network.
- It can then be utilised for the preparation of respective national development plans.
