US takes time out to focus on Pacific

Christopher Hill

NADI - The United States is taking a renewed interest in the Pacific, partly because of the valuable votes Pacific Island states have in the United Nations General Assembly, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill revealed in Fiji yesterday.

Mr Hill has been busy trying to help resolve the crisis caused by North Korean nuclear testing but took time out to attend his second annual Pacific Islands Forum meeting.

His boss, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, had also wanted him to attend, "although in light of the situation in Korea I know a lot of my colleagues were wondering what I was doing down here," he said.

"But I think you know in general I'd like to see us do more in the Pacific Island states. Each of them has the same number of votes as the United States has in the UN General Assembly.

"We're very aware of that. I think that this is the kind of place that if you pay some attention to it and show interest that can really pay dividends."

He did not cite the increased interest by other powerful countries including China and Japan in the region as another reason, but New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said NZ had impressed this development on the US when encouraging it to beef up its engagement.

Vote-buying by some powers, such as Japan over whaling, is also likely to be a factor and connected to Mr Hill's reference to nations' votes, although he did not raise the matter.

He addressed the region's leaders and held several bilateral meetings, including one with Helen Clark, who he said had encouraged his attendance.

Mr Hill said he was particularly worried about the situation in the Solomon Islands and shared New Zealand's and Australia's concerns about the recent tensions.

He repeated earlier praise of New Zealand's work in the Pacific and said "one of the things that I think has attracted me to the idea of doing more with New Zealand than we have done in recent years, for example, is precisely the issue of New Zealand's work on ... good governance in the Pacific.

"I know that we very much value New Zealand's role in parliamentary training exercises, including here in Fiji, but New Zealand has also played a role in East Timor."

Helen Clark said she and Mr Hill had a good meeting, covering a range of issues including the Pacific and Korea.

"He had held a great interest in the relationship with New Zealand since he moved into his present position.

"Given that a lot of his focus is on North Korea, which continues to be a big issue internationally, we've been impressed at the personal interest he is taking," she said.

"We've impressed on the US that other powers are showing a lot of interest [in the Pacific] and high-level interest by the United States would be a good thing."

The Chinese Premier held a summit on Fiji this year and held regular leader-to-leader talks in the Pacific, as did Japan, Taiwan and France.

Taiwan was now recognised by six Pacific Forum countries, Helen Clark said.

"So clearly the US, which has had a long-time interest in the Pacific, needs to keep abreast of those trends and make it clear that it continues to have a high level of interest here."

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters did not attend the forum, despite his interest in the Pacific and his calls this year for the US to show greater recognition of New Zealand's work in the region.

Helen Clark said: "Winston was very interested in coming and I encouraged that but then the opportunity to have his knee operated on came up, so that's the main reason he is not here."


Troubleshooter

* Christopher R. Hill is US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
* The career diplomat is head of the US delegation to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue.
* Speaks Polish, Serbo-Croat, Macedonian, and Albanian.