Geopolitics, self-determination, and China’s rise in oceania

Abstract

This chapter explores the implications of China’s rise for the strategic, political, and economic interests of the small number of external powers, including the United States, which have exercised considerable influence in the Pacific Islands since the colonial era and, more importantly, for the goals and aspirations of the developing states of the region. It argues that China’s rising profile has caused concern among more established external actors but left them with little option but to accommodate the new situation. The chapter notes that China’s rise has been generally welcomed by island leaders, offering them economic and political opportunities not readily available heretofore. The emergence of the China alternative has disrupted long-standing networks of power and influence in the region, and given island states a degree of control over their own futures perhaps unprecedented in the post-colonial era.