The diplomatic rows between Australia and its neighbors are set
to be under spotlight at an upcoming regional summit, whose topics
are usually focused on regional cooperation.
Fijian Foreign Minister Kaliopate Tavola confirmed in an
interview with Xinhua that Australia's relations with Papua New
Guinea and the Solomon Islands would be one of the key topics at
the 37th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which will officially open in
Nadi on Tuesday.
Australia has accused Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Solomon
Islands of harboring wanted Australian lawyer Julian Moti who is on
child sex charges.
As a result, Canberra has suspended ministerial contacts with
Port Moresby and Australian police officers have reportedly raided
Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's office in the
nation's capital of Honiara. The Solomon Islands is threatening to
oust the Australian-led peace mission, known as RAMSI, from its
soil.
Leaders from all the 16 PIF members, including those involved in
the Moti-related tension, have confirmed their attendance at the
summit, according to Tavola.
Leaders from Melanesian members of the forum, namely PNG, the
Solomons, Vanuatu and Fiji met here on Sunday to coordinate their
stance on the Moti issue.
They issued a statement condemning the raid on Sogavare's
office, describing Australian actions as "provocative, uncalled for
and unnecessary."
"These actions are certainly a serious violation of Solomon
Islands' territorial sovereignty and integrity," the statement
said.
The diplomatic rows have raised concerns in the region. New
Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark voiced her worries over the
future of RAMSI, a multi-nation force to help stabilize social
order in the Solomons.
Forum Secretary-General Greg Urwin has expressed the hope that
the Moti issue will not overshadow cooperation topics at the forum
meeting.
"Any tension that exists among individual members is something
that cuts across our hopes for greater regional co-operation
generally and regional cooperation and it's to be hoped that these
kind of tensions are allayed rather than worsened," he said.
The Fijian foreign minister also said the diplomatic dispute
should be prevented from dominating the forum.
A key task of the forum is to discuss the Pacific Plan, which
was adopted at last year's forum in PNG to set up the roadmap for
strengthening and deepening regional cooperation and
integration.
According to the schedule, a Pacific Plan Annual Report will be
submitted to the leaders to review the progress of the plan, list
the challenges and outline the task for the year to come.
Energy issues, especially the rising oil prices, will be a great
challenge for the region, said Tavola.
Economic integration issues, including advancing labor mobility,
progressing trade negotiations, natural resources management as
well as better governance, will be at the top of the agenda, he
said.
The PIF, set up in 1971, groups Australia, the Cook Islands, the
Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand,
Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the
Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The forum summit will be officially inaugurated on Tuesday, with
a number of smaller group meetings already underway and a series of
post-forum meetings with dialog partners to be held on Oct.
26-27.
(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2006)
