As China seeks big Pacific deal, many in Fiji see benefits

SUVA, Fiji (AP) — For Georgina Matilda, working for Chinese infrastructure company China Railway means that she can put food on the table for her children.

Like many Fijians, Matilda sees a benefit in foreign investment wherever it comes from, so long as it uplifts the people.

“I think Chinese is good coming in Fiji,” said another Fijian, Miliane Rokolita. “They bring us bigger houses. They bring money in Fiji. They’re good people.”

The welcoming attitude by many in Fiji and elsewhere in the South Pacific comes as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sweeps through on an island-hopping tour amid growing international concerns about Beijing’s military and financial ambitions in the region.

On Monday, Wang hosts a key meeting in Fiji with foreign ministers from 10 Pacific nations he hopes will endorse a sweeping new agreement covering everything from security to fisheries.

But some nations are pushing back. David Panuelo, president of the Federated States of Micronesia, has told other leaders he won’t endorse the plan, warning them in a letter that it would needlessly heighten geopolitical tensions and threaten regional stability.

Panuelo called it “the single most game-changing proposed agreement in the Pacific in any of our lifetimes” and said it “threatens to bring a new Cold War era at best, and a World War at worst.”

A draft of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press shows that China wants to train Pacific police officers, team up on “traditional and non-traditional security” and expand law enforcement cooperation.

China also wants to jointly develop a marine plan for fisheries — which would include the Pacific’s lucrative tuna catch — increase cooperation on running the region’s internet networks, and set up...