FIPIC III: The third Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG), on 22 May 2023, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Pacific island nation as part of his three-nation tour to Japan, PNG, and Australia, which aimed to strengthen ties with partner nations. As the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country, the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to PNG is crucial. On 22 May 2023, PM Modi and PM James Marape of PNG co-hosted FIPIC III, which was witnessed by leaders of the 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs).
FIPIC: Brief History
FIPIC, a multinational grouping that includes India and 14 PICs, was inaugurated in November 2014 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Fiji. This renewed India’s interest in the island region. In recent years, the most significant development in facilitating India’s interaction with PICs has been the formation of the action-oriented FIPIC.
On November 19, 2014, the inaugural FIPIC summit at the level of Heads of Government was convened in Suva, Fiji, with the goal of forging closer ties with the PICs. India hosted the second FIPIC Forum Summit in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on August 21 and 22, 2015. On the heels of the first summit, members discussed a variety of important issues, including climate change, renewable energy, food security, and United Nations reform.
In September 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred with the leaders of the Pacific Islands Developing States in plurilateral format on the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). At the meeting, Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India and the PICs share values and a future, and that India is “committed to advancing the development priorities of the PICs”.
Indian interaction with the region dates back to the early 19th century, when a significant number of indentured Indian plantation workers settled in the region during the colonial period. In India’s foreign policy during the post-colonial era, the Pacific region, including the PICs, did not play a significant role. Nearly 40 per cent of Fiji’s population is of Indian descent, and approximately 3000 Indians reside in Papua New Guinea.
Nonetheless, as India expands its strategic ambitions into the broader Indo-Pacific region, its stance towards the South Pacific is progressively shifting. In recent years, New Delhi has reached out to these small island states, emphasising the government’s willingness for greater engagement, especially in light of the revitalised ‘Act East Policy’, with increased geographical reach and strategic substance, and the Indo-Pacific vision.
Over the years, India has announced increased grant-in-aids and concessional Lines of Credit for the Pacific island nations to use for solar, renewable energy, and climate-related initiatives. India has announced an annual grant-in-aid of US$200,000 for the PICs.
India has also provided assistance to PICs in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector and dispatched technical experts in agriculture, healthcare, and information technology. Assistance has also taken the form of technical consulting, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance in the event of cyclones in the region, as well as educational scholarships and a vast array of capacity building programmes, such as short-term civilian and military training courses.
There has been a gradual positive transformation in India’s attitude towards the PICs in recent years. Multiple geopolitical, economic, and strategic factors contributed to this transformation. India’s strategy towards the PICs emphasises a more open and inclusive relationship based on its historical ties with nations such as Fiji. India is a dedicated development partner for island nations in the Pacific, and its efforts in the region are governed by the island nations’ priorities. As a multilateral forum for discussing common areas of cooperation and facilitating multidimensional cooperation, FIPIC plays a crucial function in this context.
FIPIC III: Key Learnings
At the third FIPIC summit, PM Modi reiterated that the PICs are “not small but large ocean countries.”[3] He also stated that the PICs are an important voice of the Global South, which is more vulnerable to challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, hunger, poverty, and various health-related challenges, as well as challenges to supply chains of food and fuel, fertiliser, and other essentials. During the pandemic, India provided island nations in the Pacific with the necessary assistance, whether in the form of vaccines or essential medications, wheat or sugar, in accordance with its capabilities.
At the FIPIC III Summit, India announced a number of new initiatives, including a 12-step Action Plan, in line with the requirements of the PICs, and Prime Minister Modi stated, “India respects your priorities” to further strengthen the relationship between India and PICs.
Important initiatives in the healthcare and medicine sector included the establishment of a super-specialty cardiology hospital in Fiji, dialysis facilities in all 14 Pacific island nations, and the provision of sea ambulances to all 14 PICs. India proposed to establish affordable medicine centres similar to ‘Jan Aushadhi’ and proclaimed the establishment of yoga centres in island nations.
The majority of economic activities in these nations fell under the category of the unorganised sector. The growth of minor businesses can accelerate the process of economic development. In the past, India has provided financial support for the SME sector in these nations, enabling numerous small-scale entrepreneurs to establish their own enterprises. At FIPIC III, India announced initiatives for the development of the SME sector in each PIC, including the provision of machinery and technology and the implementation of capacity-building programmes.
India has also pledged assistance in solar energy and water scarcity. To address the effects of climate change, India has prioritised increasing the proportion of renewable energy in its energy matrix. In the past, India has organised training programmes for elderly women (solar mothers) from these island nations on affordable renewable energy (solar) at Barefoot College in Rajasthan.
Climate change and sustainable development are crucial issues in the island region, where a closer partnership can be developed to achieve effective and concrete solutions. India has welcomed the decision of some regional nations to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and has invited the leaders of Pacific nations to join the Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). CDRI and ISA are integral to India’s regional and global climate change agenda commitment.
Under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), India continues to provide assistance to PICs. At the Summit, India announced “Sagar Amrut Scholarship” scheme for the Pacific Island countries. Under this programme, 1000 ITEC training opportunities will be provided over the next five years. During the Summit, PM Narendra Modi interacted with the alumni of the ITEC courses.
In the sphere of technology, India has announced that the Centre of Excellence in Papua New Guinea will be transformed into a “Regional Information Technology and Cybersecurity Hub”.
During his visit, the prime minister of India inaugurated the Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research Institute (SCORI) at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. The Institute, constructed with India’s assistance, will serve as a research and development hub for some of the most urgent regional issues, such as coastal vulnerability, coastal erosion and coastal protection, Ocean state forecast, potential fishing zones, tsunami forecasting, etc.
All of these initiatives reaffirm that India’s approach to development in terms of cooperation with PICs is human-centered rather than transactional. India’s development partnership seeks to be inclusive and sustainable in order to reduce inequality and contribute to people’s empowerment.
On the sidelines of the FIPIC Summit, Prime Minister Modi conferred bilaterally with Prime Ministers James Marape of Papua New Guinea, Chris Hipkins of New Zealand, Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji, Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands, and Kiribati, Niue, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tonga, Nauru, and Palau. PM also conferred with Henry Puna, secretary general of the PIF. During this meeting, both parties discussed methods to strengthen India’s ties with island nations in a variety of fields.
During PM Modi’s successful visit, the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea bestowed upon him the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL), the highest civilian award of Papua New Guinea. In another ceremony, the Prime Minister of Fiji, on behalf of the President of Fiji, bestowed upon PM Modi the Companion of the Order.
Current Strategic Environment in the Pacific Islands
In recent years, the South Pacific subregion of the Indo-Pacific has witnessed numerous noteworthy developments. The region, which has remained on the periphery of the popular discourse on the Indo-Pacific, as well as from the perspective of great power contestations for the majority of the post-war era, is experiencing a growing level of engagement from global superpowers.
China has by far the most effective and disruptive engagement in the region. Beijing is expanding its diplomatic and economic influence in the region. China’s aid programmes and loans on extremely unfavourable terms to the majority of the island nations threaten their economic stability and place them under a growing debt burden, without any guarantee of delivering real benefits. The April 2022 signature of the Framework Agreement for Security Cooperation between Beijing and Solomon Islands alarmed regional actors. The assertive presence of China in the region has caused other actors, both new and old, to adjust their priorities and increase their engagement in the Pacific.
In the month of May 2023, a number of high-level activities occurred in the region. President Biden was unable to attend this meeting with the island nations, so Secretary of State Anthony Blinken attended Dialogue in PNG with PIF leaders on the same day as the third FIPIC Summit. Secretary Blinken formally invited Pacific leaders to Washington for a second US-Pacific Leaders Summit later in the year to continue dialogue.
On September 28 and 29, 2022, President Biden hosted the inaugural ‘US-Pacific Island Country Summit’ in Washington, D.C. The first-ever ‘Pacific Partnership Strategy’ released after the Summit emphasised that broadening and deepening engagement with the Pacific Islands individually and collectively is a priority of US foreign policy. The United States has expressed concern over China’s increasing investment in the region and lack of transparency in its actions.
The United States is treating the region significantly more seriously and has stated that its engagement in the Pacific Islands must go beyond security concerns. US National Security Strategy 2022, states that the US intends to “expand regional diplomatic, development, and economic engagement, with a particular focus on the Indo-Pacific.” The US Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States 2022, states that the US will also help build the defence capacity of partners in the Pacific Islands, open new embassies, and expand US Coast Guard presence and cooperation in the region, with a focus on advising, training, deployment, and capacity-building. Focus areas will include climate change, covid-19, and China’s coercive behaviour. Clearly, the United States is re-engaging with the region in a significant manner.
The United States signed the Compact of Free Association with Palau on May 22, 2023, and with the Federated States of Micronesia on May 23, 2023. Secretary Blinken stated that the United States is eager to begin negotiations with the Republic of the Marshall Islands on a similar agreement very soon.
Pacific Leaders will then travel to South Korea for the first ‘Korea-Pacific Islands Summit’ on May 29-30, 2023, with the theme “Navigating towards Co-Prosperity: Strengthening Cooperation with the Blue Pacific”. At the Summit, President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, stated that “the Pacific Islands Forum is a key partner in the Republic of Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy,”.
Since 2002, France, which has overseas territories in the region, has held its own regular “France-Oceania summit.” In addition, Japan has hosted the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) every three years since 1997. Australia and New Zealand have their own policies to strengthen their engagement with the surrounding island nations. The PICs are also on the agenda of the multilateral Quad, and at the recent Quad Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, the four parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen partnership with the PICs. It is evident that the PICs are receiving increasing attention from regional and extraregional powers.
Conclusion
Despite their modest size, islands in the Pacific Ocean have historically altered the course of history. These small islands are significant from the perspective of power projection by the main regional powers. Despite their modest size, PICs have significant economic, strategic, and political significance in international affairs. Given the current context, the region is likely to become a more contested strategic space in the future, as regional and extra-regional players’ interests increase. It is crucial to observe how small island nations navigate the shifting geopolitical landscape.
In the midst of geopolitical upheavals in the region, India’s approach to the PICs emphasises a transparent, need-based approach and an inclusive, condition-free relationship with the region. Recent efforts to engage with the region have brought India and these countries much closer together. India’s outreach continues to contribute to the empowerment and enhancement of the quality of human life. The founding of FIPIC has given India’s relations with the PICs a much-needed boost. The Group format has strengthened bilateral relations. The FIPIC III is a step in the correct direction for expanding the breadth and depth of India’s engagement with the PICs in accordance with the fundamental principle of respect for their respective priorities.
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