London. May 30. INTERFAX - China and the Pacific states will not yet conclude a comprehensive agreement on cooperation, including in the field of security, due to the objections of a number of countries in the region, The Guardian reports.
Currently, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a tour of Pacific countries, visiting eight countries in 10 days. On Monday, while in Fiji, he held an online meeting with the foreign ministers of regional states, at which the agreement was discussed.
"After negotiations at a press conference with the participation of Wang Yi and Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, the Chinese side confirmed that the agreement was postponed indefinitely," the newspaper notes.
The Prime Minister assured that, in general, the foreign ministers supported the agreement, but some ministers expressed concern about its content, and decided to postpone signing it.
The content of the agreement became known last week, it touches on a wide range of topics - from the creation of a free trade zone with the region to the dispatch of humanitarian aid. We are also talking about closer cooperation between China and the Pacific states in the field of security: Beijing offers to train local police, help with cybersecurity, with the compilation of nautical charts, and also wants to get more access to local mineral resources.
During the trip, Wang and China signed at least three agreements with Fiji that expand bilateral cooperation in the economy, trade, agriculture, fishing, tourism, civil aviation, education, law enforcement and emergency response. Beijing has also signed an agreement with Samoa, but its details are not disclosed.
Also on Friday, the new Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in Fiji to assure local partners that Canberra will continue to deal with the affairs of the region.
The Guardian recalls that Wang Yi's trip takes place after the signing of a security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands in March. Observers noted that one of these points of the agreement is the admission of Chinese ships "in accordance with their needs and with the consent of the Solomon Islands" to the ports of the country. In Australia, this was perceived as a prologue for the deployment of a Chinese base near Australian territory.
