The Geopolitics of Oceania - The Pacific Islands
The paper analyses the geopolitics of Oceania with the Pacific Island States and the geopolitical role of small states in general. Oceania with its three regions Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia is an area of growing geopolitical competition between the Western States Australia, New Zealand, Fran...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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2024
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.48693/447 https://osnadocs.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de/bitstream/ds-2024011710225/1/Geopolitics_Oceania_Pacific_Islands_2024_Saalbach.pdf |
| Summary: | The paper analyses the geopolitics of Oceania with the Pacific Island States and the geopolitical role of small states in general. Oceania with its three regions Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia is an area of growing geopolitical competition between the Western States Australia, New Zealand, France, United Kingdom, United States and Japan on one side and China on the other side. The key institution is the Pacific Iceland Forum PIF with Australia, New Zealand, the French territories French Polynesia and New Caledonia, the 14 oceanic states Fiji, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Niue, Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, Vanuatu, Nauru, Tonga, Palau, and Tuvalu. American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas have observer status. The main pillars of Western influence in Oceania are: 1. Defense and security, 2. Binding of local currencies to Western currencies, 3. Developmental aid and 4. Association to Western States or a status as dependent territories. Many islands use or are linked to the US Dollar, the Australian Dollar, or the New Zealand Dollar. Most islands do not achieve a 100 million US Dollar national budget, despite development assistance that is primarily provided by Australia, United States, China, France, and Japan. The Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Palau are in free association with the United States while Niue and the Cook Islands are associated to New Zealand. The Pacific islands states face several challenges regarding natural disasters, poverty, and difficult governance. Large parts of Oceania are threatened by rising sea levels (inundation) that contribute to coastal erosion and salinization of freshwater reserves. The global warming with rising carbon dioxide levels contributes to an acidification of ocean water which leads to coral bleaching and subsequently to reduced fish reserves. Recent geologic studies showed however that many Pacific Islands grow with rising sea levels due to sedimentation. The ... |
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