ASSESSMENTS

Australia's Re-Engagement with Fiji

May 18, 2012 | 09:59 GMT

Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama (L) with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing in 2008

Guang Niu/Getty Images

Summary

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr traveled to Fiji on April 30. His trip marked the first time an Australian foreign minister has visited Fiji since 2008, a consequence of the rocky relations between the two countries since a military coup overthrew Fiji's civilian government in 2006. During the visit, Carr praised Fiji's "positive progress" on moving back toward civilian rule. He said Canberra would consider easing the measures it had imposed on Fiji in response to the coup, including sanctions, travel restrictions and suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum regional bloc. 

Fiji's ruling military junta appears to have taken some steps toward civilian rule; it says it plans to draft a new constitution by February 2013 and hold elections by 2014 as scheduled. However, the junta has not yet followed through on these promises and has also adopted new regulations in a bid to strengthen the regime's grip on power. Nonetheless, Australia is likely using the Fijian government's assurances to rationalize moving away from its isolation strategy for Fiji since that approach has begun to harm Canberra's strategic interests.

Maintaining influence in the Melanesian Islands, of which Fiji is one of the most significant, is a strategic imperative for Canberra, but China has begun to fill the power vacuum left after Australia severed most of its ties with Fiji. Beyond the bilateral relationship, other countries in the region and interest from international bodies like the European Union and Arab League have pressured Australia to drop its ineffective attempts to isolate Fiji. Most important, Washington also wants to see Australia end its isolation policy, since a Chinese outpost for influence between Australia and the United States would complicate the U.S. administration's re-engagement strategy in East Asia.

The frayed relationship between the two countries has ramifications for U.S. and Chinese efforts in the Pacific....

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