Is China taking over the South Pacific? | 60 Minutes Australia

it's no secret Australia's relationship with China is as complicated as it is fragile on the one hand they're the key to our economic prosperity so if we want to be rich warm n-b-c I'd John Koren on the other hand we fear China's expanding tentacles of influence we don't want them getting too close which brings us to the South Pacific somewhat arrogantly Australia has always considered it our patch of paradise to protect and nurture but now the Chinese are moving in splashing their cash in places like Fiji and Vanuatu so what's next a Chinese military base right on our doorstep the tropical playground of Fiji it'd be hard to think of a more idyllic location for two nations to discreetly at least butt heads but that's exactly what was happening in Suva Harbor last week flying the flag for Australia were the warships Melbourne and Adelaide and quietly stalking them a Chinese spy ship pretending not very well to be a fishing vessel now that's a space surveillance ship is a scientific ship the seriousness of this highly planned coincidental meeting was not lost on anyone is China's aim to be the most powerful nation in the world I think in the very long term yes it's got global ambitions and it's challenging the rules-based international order should we be worried about China setting itself up in the South Pacific absolutely these days around the South Pacific the Chinese seem to be everywhere and they're hard to miss you've only got to look at the money they're throwing around on new buildings but security analyst dr. Malcolm Davis says what seems like much-needed economic assistance for these penniless countries comes at a high price what the Chinese tend to do is that they put heavy investment into countries that simply don't have the means to pay back the debt so they're getting countries addicted to debt and then when they call in the debt and the countries can't pay the Chinese will take a port or a territory or take an island you basically make them sound like political loan sharks in effect yes if China can get a country so deep in debt that it can't pay back that debt then China will take something else in return which brings us to neighboring Vanuatu and more specifically the key strategic outpost of loganville during World War two this was America's second largest base in the Pacific now China has built an immense wharf it claims is to help the Vanuatu government attract cruise ships to the region that the wharfs builders did such an impressive job many are questioning their motives there's the strategic part who you say there's got to be more to it there's got to be more to it yeah absolutely the Chinese wouldn't be building all this just to cash in on a very limited tourist market here so what do you think in their heart of hearts they're after they're thinking commercial influence political influence and ultimately a military presence at half a kilometer long dr. Davis reckons this Wharf is complete overkill for the local cruise industry it is however the perfect size for a visiting foreign Navy and that's means it's large enough to accommodate large Chinese naval service combatants guided missile destroyers cruisers what are we saving aircraft carriers we could talk an aircraft carrier in there as well when you look at this - alarm bells go off in my mind absolutely because if the Chinese were to bring naval forces into this region it fundamentally changes our strategic outlook in a way not seen since the 1940s of course wharves this solid don't come cheap but China has let Vanuatu put the 114 million dollars it costs on their tab which currently stands at 220 million dollars is this a debt trap yes so the Chinese would be hoping Vanuatu couldn't keep up with the debt repayments look I think I don't think the Chinese are doing this out of the goodness of their heart they're not investing in Vanuatu to help the venom our two people they're investing in Vanuatu to help themselves this doesn't only happen in the South Pacific China has form when it comes to deathtrap diplomacy the impoverished African nation of Djibouti was the most a growing 1.2 billion dollars and China has used part of that debt to create a fully fledged naval base there and last year Sri Lanka defaulted on a massive Chinese loan for a port that many believe it didn't need in the first place China now owns the port on a 99 year lease what do you think of the type of businesses that the Chinese government is investing in here or the projects or the projects they are too big for our country back in Vanuatu is capital Port Vila taxi driver William taboc says he and everyone he knows is worried about China's growing dominance already we know that we borrow a lot of money from China do you think too much it's too much it's too much everyone and if you ask anyone on the street and we are frightened of China finding too much projects Port Vila is littered with Chinese built landmarks that have locals scratching their heads this huge stadium was built form of regional games in 2017 and by the look of the hoarding it hasn't been used for much since then and even more controversially this gigantic Convention Center that the government can't even afford to pay the power and cleaning bills for let alone staged events at we went for a drive the other day we had a taxi driver and we drove past the convention center and he pointed at that and said what a waste of money that is not what our country needs what do you say to that criticism yes I would agree with that can't even pay the electricity bills there ah yes that's true we're trying to find a solution to make it work for us Vanuatu is remarkably frank foreign minister is Ralph French in Varna he concedes his country has made errors in its dealings with China but denies any suggestions that the massive war fat loganville is more for China than it is for Vanuatu what if any water gets into financial strife and China comes to you and says all right look we'll bail you out we'll get rid of the debts just give us the war fat Loganville and we'll call it even what do you say to them we I can't imagine that offer but we have built that wolf for our economic development we want we want Luke and Phil to become a major commercial hub not only for Vanuatu but for the region so can you give us a 100% guarantee right now that China will not have a military base ever in Vanuatu yes I can give you that guarantee we are a non-aligned country we're a member of the non-aligned movement so this big power player that's happening in which China is involved in which this trailer is involved if I know one order wants to be no part of it but Malcolm Davis is wary of the Vanuatu government's assurances about Chinese intentions and says everyone in Australia should be as well Vanuatu is only about 1,500 nautical miles from Sydney and if the Chinese get or establish a military base Vanuatu or indeed any other South Pacific state then suddenly we have the prospect of Chinese military forces very close to the Australian eastern seaboard so you're saying this is a military threat it's not a military threat now but it could be a military threat into the future coming up what do you think China's master plan is in this region domination China setting its sights on the entire South Pacific is that China's goal to be the top dog absolutely we reveal their sneaky race for power what do you think if they can pump money in here they'll get support at the UN yes because you have two times - that's bribery that's next on 60 minutes what do you think China's master plan is in this region domination domination of the region general Syd of any Rambo cat knows a thing or two about domination he led to military cruise in Fiji and later served as the country's prime minister for seven years but now as opposition leader the one-time strongman fears how weakened Fiji has become because of the Chinese are you comfortable with the level of involvement China has in in Fiji's affairs no I am NOT if they become so powerful and we become impotent aside that repayment is concerned there is a fear that they will take over some of the public facilities we have our ports and airports happening around the world is that a deal that in the long term it is going to really turn turn nasty for this country not only for this country but for the region because we're going to be selling ourselves we will have to sell our souls for the comforts of today general RAM Booker doesn't have to take me far to show what he means the skyline of Fiji's capital Suva is rapidly changing and it's all because of one building this monstrously out of proportion chinese development at 28 stories it's more than twice the size of the next tallest tower in the South Pacific so the Chinese pump money into projects like this these the kind of projects that you actually need know that we need the projects but there is no need to go for a very high rise multiple multiple storey building every time critics of China's say the real proof they're not here to help the local economy is that they bring in their own construction workers to build these projects and employ very few locals hello i'm tom from 60 minutes Australia on this side in soo that it's pretty much 100% Chinese labor despite a crying need for local construction jobs in Fiji when the cameras came out thank you they're gone I wanted to ask them in here why they didn't employ any Fijians but no one was allowed to speak do you think Chinese worried about helping the locals here get jobs no they're bringing in their own laborers their own workforce to work on projects that they directly benefit from but really gives nothing back to the society or the people dr. Malcolm Davis from the Australian strategic policy Institute believes the China fication of Fiji could easily have been avoided Australian moans a lot about China's growing influence in the South Pacific and us losing out as a result of it but how much have we been the masters of our own demise look I do think we have taken them for granted to a degree as Australia dropped a ball I think in terms of aid and investment into the South Pacific absolutely we have I think you know Australia probably and needs to relook at the way they look at the Pacific Fiji's Attorney General Syed Qian agrees with Malcolm Davis he says Australia turned its back on Fiji after its 2006 coup which was all the invitation China needed to fill the vacuum so Australia played it wrong they left an opening for China they played it wrong they left an opportunity for anybody to come in and China did China did in respects yes and then of course one cannot complain about that now we're a country we need to develop we need to continue with living we need to continue to grow over in Vanuatu foreign minister Ralph French and Vaughn who says it's been an identical situation but having been caught out he says Australia's now trying to play catch-up I mean it's a great thing for you guys isn't it you've got two countries effectively fighting for your love yeah it's almost like two boys fighting for a girl do you say trying to growing and think maybe we want to hitch our wagon to them well we are hitting our wagon to China definitely we have we've got our hitches on a number of wagons and I think for Vanuatu that's the best approach we trying to get the most out of our relations with the maximum number of countries is that China's goal to be the top dog absolutely yeah there's not doubt that China is gonna become the most powerful country in the world Chinese born Canberra based security expert Adam nee is another who warns that China's money comes with onerous conditions money's pouring into the Pacific from China there strings attached absolutely yeah the way that China delivers Aid and does business is different from the way that we used to what we will see to be bribery in the Chinese case seems to be okay and so that creates a number of issues for these countries where China is just trying to get the job done perhaps through ways that we wouldn't consider to be appropriate in Australia getting the Chinese view on all of this proved impossible in Vanuatu Tom Stafford has made over from 60 minutes Australia I wanted to request an interview with the ambassador how many interview requests made with the Chinese embassy went unanswered but Ralph French in varna was happy to explain the price china charges for its loans and grants they demand Vanuatu votes with them on critical issues at the United Nations what do you think if they can pump money in here they'll get support at the UN yes because you have to remember that's bribery maybe that's diplomacy Australia gives a lot of money and expects us to vote for them in certain things and we do I mean this is the give-and-take of international diplomacy China's response to the critics of it specific policy is to cry foul it accuses them of racism pure and simple but Malcolm Davis says that's not fair at times is there an element of racism or xenophobia to this discussion no do you think the Chinese try and portray it that way yes but they shouldn't you know we have a legitimate concern about our national security here and I think to try and suggest that we're being racist is absolute why is that because you know our foreign and defense policy is made here it's not made in Beijing you know we look at how China is rising in the region we look at their actions in the South China Sea we look at the steady growth of their military capabilities and we look at their growth of expanding influence and presence across the Indian Ocean and now in the South Pacific and you know these present legitimate concerns to us so it's not about racism or xenophobia it's about defense policy and that's what we're concerned about diplomacy is a difficult game in the Pacific right now Australia used to be the main player here but we've been scoring own goals of late for now the warships welcomed by the island nations of the Pacific continue to be ours but if we keep on getting it wrong it may well be China's Navy taking safe harbor in these waters since 1942 we have not had to worry about any sort of military threat against our East Coast and the potential exists that if we don't get our relationship right with the region and if we don't counterbalance China then we could be forced into a situation whereby we end up in a more major power conflict and I think we need to take that prospect seriously the prospect of major power conflict is once again on the agenda hello I'm Sarah Arbor thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our channel you can also download the 9 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Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 2,064,287

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Tom Steinfort, Ellen Fanning, Peter Overton, Karl Stefanovic, Ray Martin, Peter Stefanovic, Mike Munro, Sarah Abo, tonga, Vanuatu, china, syndrome, south pacific, islands, industrialism, construction, chinese, communist, islanders, territory, legal, shipping, land rights, civil rights, island

Id: 3NF3y1ouJ64

Length: 17min 58sec (1078 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 10 2020