Abstract
Since China's ambitions in the South Pacific were almost completely thwarted in 2022, she attempted to manage the South Pacific in a low-key and ‘down-to-earth’ manner in 2023. In January 2024, however, China launched a diplomatic poaching mode and successfully enticed Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. At one time, Tuvalu, which has formal relations with Taiwan, was also in danger of changing allegiance. Both incidents showed that China cannot hide her ambitions of expanding political power in the South Pacific any more.
On one hand, China has maintained relations with South Pacific island countries; on the other hand, it has courted regional powers. Wang Yi, who has returned to serve as China's Foreign Minister, visited Australia in March 2024, showing that China’s re-emergence in the South Pacific is cautious. However, China is not entirely cautious. The 53rd Pacific Islands Forum was held in Tonga August 26 to 30, 2024. The joint communiqué issued after the meeting pointed out that participation of Taiwan/the Republic of China in the forum remains unchanged. Such wording was immediately strongly protested by Qian Bo, ‘China's Special Envoy for Pacific Island Country Affairs.’ Subsequently, the official website of the forum re-posted the communiqué, but deleted the text regarding Taiwan’s participation status. Additionally, China test-launched a missile into French Polynesia's exclusive economic zone on September 25 and made waves once again.