Success stories vital for Pacific unity

Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase greets Helen Clark at the opening of the Pacific Leaders Forum. Picture / Fiji Times

It was as if cyclone season had hit the Pacific a month early this year when leaders of its nations gathered for their annual forum.

At the heart of the storm brewing in the forum's lead-up was the regional assistance mission to the Solomon Islands and whether it would be expelled by its Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, furious with Australia's alleged intrusion into its sovereignty.

In many ways the battle over the Australian-led mission, better known as Ramsi, was emblematic of the tensions inherent in trying to bring the one-year-old Pacific Plan - the new development template for the forum's countries and its Suva-based secretariat - into meaningful force.

It highlighted the fragility of the drive towards a regional approach.

And despite Sogavare's pledge to stamp out corruption when securing the job, issues of "good governance" - now considered by the secretariat to be the number one priority underpinning the Pacific Plan - were at the centre of Australian and New Zealand concerns.

Together with the renewed threats by the Fijian military to oust the Government and the occupation of the Tahitian Presidential Palace while President Oscar Temaru was at the forum, it was also a reminder of just how unstable parts of the region are.

Regional anxiety about events in the Solomons increased when Sogavare, following his entry into office, announced a commission of inquiry into the April riots in the country.

Two of the men he had appointed as ministers were in jail, having allegedly helped incite them.

The inquiry was seen as a way of pre-empting the judicial process and aimed at getting the men out of jail.

The then Attorney-General made his displeasure known and was soon gone.

Sogavare announced his plans to appoint Indo-Fijian-born Australian citizen, and his good friend, Julian Moti to the job. The Australian police responded, deciding to lay child-sex charges against Moti, who had previously escaped conviction in Vanuatu. Despite Australian Prime Minister John Howard's assertion that his Government had no input, it appeared to be a political act.

Moti fled to Papua New Guinea, embroiling that Government in what evolved into the nasty spat which played out over recent weeks and resulted in the mission expulsion threats.

The forum resolution on Tuesday to review Ramsi and ensure the forum had greater high-level input was in essence a face-saver for both Sogavare and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare, who was banned from Australia in the fall-out and made his displeasure well-known.

It was also something of a face-saver for the Australian Government, able to claim the review would underscore the mission's successes and which was unrepentant about its steps - but privately uncomfortable about the bombastic manner in which its Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer delivered its messages.

New Zealand Government perceptions were similar.

For forum leaders, including Helen Clark, the wider significance of the threat to eject the mission - aside from the on-the-ground implications for the Solomons - was the undermining of one of the biggest showponies highlighting the benefits of regional co-operation to date - the thrust of the Pacific Plan.

Behind the scenes at the forum, Clark was credited with playing a key role in the compromise. New Zealand observers are not unfamiliar with her tendency to initiate reviews to defuse troubles - yet it proved crucial to ensuring this week that all players remained on board the Pacific Plan boat.

She was subsequently upbeat about the plan's progress saying it had injected a "whole new life and energy into the forum" and "I think we've gone further than we'd ever dared hope."

Perhaps wary of subjecting herself to accusations of arrogance similar to those faced by Howard, she declined to assert - when asked by the Herald - that Pacific states needed to adopt a more urgent approach in regard to its implementation.

She replied diplomatically ; "I think the urgency is there and Pacific leaders are well aware of what globalisation means for them. That if you don't run hard you get left a very, very long way behind."

Yet the forum secretariat Pacific Plan annual report paints a grim picture of a region where the worst socio-economic indicators are comparable to those in Sub-Saharan Africa. It clearly suggests the leaders are not moving with the speed required.

On economic growth it finds while there were improvements in some areas, in some countries "the overall trends remain that of: on the one hand, low/negative economic growth, low/negative investment flows, limited access to communications, and external trade and aid dependence; and, on the other hand, increasing population growth and pressure on resources."

The region continued to face serious overall challenges in the management of its natural resources and similar observations could be made about human development.

On good governance, international indicators showed "how far the Pacific islands need to travel to gain the level of 'respect' that the leaders are seeking in areas of Government."

The report expresses concern that few countries have actually developed national policies on regionalism, suggesting they are failing to translate the highbrow Pacific Plan goals into practical government-led change programmes.

Asked what the biggest challenge facing the forum secretariat was, Secretary-General Greg Urwin said this week "the work of the region is expanding very rapidly and we are getting a lot more serious attention from a range of partners around the world. Now how to organise that in a way that is going to serve the interests of the regions and not the partners necessarily, is I think the key thing to do."

The presence of US Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill at the forum for the second year running bespoke the increased interest of super-powers, including China and Japan, all seeking to build their influence.

Hill's frank admission that the United States is "very aware" of the power of the collective Pacific nation votes in international assemblies such as the United Nations was indicative.

The increased use of chequebook diplomacy - linked to overt or covert vote-buying - directly undermines the good governance drive, a clear threat to the region and the development of collective muscle.

The Solomons' recent hint it might turn to Taiwan instead of Australia for Ramsi funding once the latter flexed its muscle over transparency and accountability issues was an example.

The Pacific Plan has "given us a script and it has allowed us to get on to the front foot in terms of our dealing with a range of our partners," Urwin said. "They've been responding to the kinds of things the regional leaders have made decisions about. That kind of thing has to be developed."

Officials are intent on making progress on three key areas, which are comparatively non-controversial and will have demonstrable grassroots impacts, as a way of exemplifying the benefits of the regional drive - essentially creating Pacific Plan success stories to build on.

In transport that involves looking at the establishment of a joint shipping line, while in energy the bulk-buying of oil - there are critical shortages in some states - is under consideration.

Enhancing communications capability through ICT strategies - getting the internet into remote communities - is the third strand.

Yet as the secretariat report notes, "given the low base from where many Pacific countries are coming" a "great deal of effort is required."