Climate and Conflict in the South Pacific

By Earl Makhanbetov

The South Pacific is a region that will hold much significance in the coming decades. Australia and New Zealand stand as beacons of Pacific security and possess a considerable amount of geopolitical power. However, it has been the renewed interests of China and Russia that seek to disrupt such history. A “look North ” policy has been underway, as smaller Island-Nations are unable to acquire their interests through Australia or New Zealand, they look to Northern proprietors for the desired backing. Fiji has already adopted such measures, having welcomed Russian military instructors, accepted Russian armaments, and acquired enormous funding projects from China. The Fiji bid to favor Northern allies is a pretty serious security threat to Australia and New Zealand, and it is a matter of time till other Nations follow suit. This can and should be addressed through renewed lenses that Australia and New Zealand must adopt. Steps must be taken to strengthen Island identity and recognition: the biggest factor to this could lay in loosening immigration standards and or investing in stateside Island infrastructure.

 

Wesley-Smith, Terence, and Graeme Smith. “Introduction: The Return of Great Power Competition.” The China Alternative: Changing Regional Order in the Pacific Islands, edited by GRAEME SMITH and TERENCE WESLEY-SMITH, 1st ed., ANU Press, 2021, pp. 1–40, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1h45mkn.4. Accessed 8 May 2022.

By Earl Makhanbetov

The Solomon Islands experienced a turbulent period that revolved around the question of immigration and land rights. The 1998 Solomon Island conflict saw a massive anti-immigration response to Malaitan immigrants coming to the Guadalcanal mainland and was part of a broader campaign of securitization. The Guadalcanal Liberation Army was formed and was later rebranded as the Isatabu Freedom Fighters (IFM) that systematized anti-Malaitan violence with the intention of discouraging immigration. As a response, the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was formed, with the intention of retaliation after some 20,000 Malaitans were forced to flee. The anti-Malaitan response was so severe due to their cheap outsourced labor: this put pressure on locals and created tensions within communities. This was further compounded by land rights issues, as Guadalcanal land is assigned through the matrilineal line and Malatian land rights are assigned patrilineally. Guale men would sell land that they had no claim to Malaitan immigrants and this, in turn, produced an enormous culture clash that led to such a right-wing response.

 

Firth, Stewart. “Instability in the Pacific Islands: A Status Report.” Lowy Institute, June 2018, https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/instability-pacific-islands-status-report.

By Earl Makhanbetov

The autonomous region of Bougainville is a former constituent of Papua New Guinea (PNG), however, geographically belongs to the Solomon Islands. The Bougainville conflict has claimed the lives of up to 15,000 people and lasted from 1988 to 1998. Tens of thousands of people were left displaced and a scar was forever engraved in the history of the region. The dispute revolved around the Panguna Copper Mine: which served as PNG’s economic backbone. As a response to the environmental pollution that the mine was causing, local grassroots organizations and demonstrators demanded the Panguna Copper Mine be closed. Australian-backed Papua New Guinea Defense Forces (PNGDF) were dispatched to quell the protests; a direct response oversaw the formation of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA). The BRA fiercely opposed PNGDF forces and the ensuing 10 years of jungle warfare consumed critical infrastructure and eventually the objective turned into political ramifications of independence and statehood. The key highlights of the conflict revolve around transnational companies and their disregard for collective interests, more so, Australia supplied and trained PNGDF forces and stands as a major geopolitical player in the region that has the ability to sway major political decisions.

 

Böge, Volker. “Conflict Potential and Violent Conflicts in the South Pacific.” Www.wiso.uni-Hamburg, Jan. 2001, https://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/fachbereich-sowi/professuren/jakobeit/forschung/akuf/archiv/arbeitspapiere/southpacificconflicts.pdf.

REGAN, ANTHONY J. “Bougainville: Origins of the Conflict, and Debating the Future of Large-Scale Mining.” Large-Scale Mines and Local-Level Politics: Between New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea, edited by COLIN FILER and PIERRE-YVES LE MEUR, vol. 12, ANU Press, 2017, pp. 353–414, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1x76gfk.19.Accessed 23 Apr. 2022.