Clive Bibby: Chinese expansion that should be worrying us all

It is understandable that the world is focusing most of its attention on the Russian invasion of Ukraine at present but for us down here in the South Pacific, there are significant developments taking place right under our noses that should concern us more.

I refer of course to the pending signing of an agreement between the Solomon Islands and China that would allow access to ports in our part of the world by China’s military fleet. Presumably, that accommodation would be followed by development aid that would inevitably lead to that Island nation surrendering its sovereignty and facilities to a Super Power whose intentions are demonstrably expansionist and controlling and could threaten our own ability to trade with the rest of the world.

This move is straight out of China’s Communist Party textbook aimed at world domination.

But no one should be fooled that these treaties are benign or have the best interests of the host nation at heart.

China has been using this strategy for years now and it makes little difference to them whether they achieve their objectives by way of force, illegal occupation or bribery - the end result is the same as we wait to see which method will used causing the collapse of one more domino.

My great uncle, Dr Charles Fox OBE, was an Anglican missionary in the Solomons for 70 years and served as a coast watcher at Guadalcanal during WW2 providing the Allies with intelligence related to Japanese movements before and after those famous South Pacific battles to liberate the area.

He used to tell me how he was able to remain safe from being captured.

The Japs knew where he was from his radio signals communicating this vital information to allied headquarters.

Charles put it about that he was living with headhunting cannibals in the Island jungle who had made an exception in his case, providing him with safe haven. It is true that the local tribes had once practiced those barbaric methods of food gathering but the advent of Christianity had been (like in this country) the main reason why it was discontinued.

However, at the time, that false information proved to be sufficient deterrent for the Japanese and they left him alone until the islands were retaken.

But the nature of modern expansion is generally quite different (Ukraine being the exception) from the days when it was accomplished by military might alone.

There is a pattern developing which gives clear indication of how the modern aggressor achieves their objectives without firing a shot.

We should be looking at this latest deal with the Solomons in this context.

First, they soften up and cause internal problems to target nation’s economy’s by cyber attacks which can effectively destroy a sovereign nation’s ability to communicate with those nations with whom they trade.

The next step is to threaten the ability of nations to export goods to markets on the other side of the world either by cancelling agreements to free trade in commodities that support local economies or by disrupting the shipping of goods to those markets.

How many people know that the bulk of the ships taking Australia’s and New Zealand’s most valuable exports to world markets are owned or controlled by Chinese companies - at least in the South Pacific.

That fact has been demonstrably reinforced when looking at Australia’s recent scrap with China that affected much of its mineral and agricultural exports to the Chinese mainland.

The threat of this treatment being applied to us as well has forced our government to abstain from making critical comment of these tactics as a full member of the 5 Eyes alliance. We are becoming known as a “fair weather” friend whenever we have the opportunity to show solidarity with our fellow democratic colleagues, on whom we would surely depend if China decided to turn it guns on us in isolation.

This sort of appeasement never works when dealing with bullies.

It is in our interests to decide who we can rely on during good times and bad.

The choices have never been more stark.

Now is the time to be counted.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.