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The diplomatic rows between Australia and its neighbors are set to be under spotlight at an upcoming regional summit, whose topics are usually focused on regional cooperation. Fijian Foreign Minister Kaliopate Tavola confirmed in an interview with Xinhua that Australia's relations with Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands would be one of the key topics at the 37th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which will officially open in Nadi on Tuesday. Australia has accused Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Solomon Islands of harboring wanted Australian lawyer Julian Moti who is on child sex charges. As a result, Canberra has suspended ministerial contacts with Port Moresby and Australian police officers have reportedly raided Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's office in the nation's capital of Honiara. The Solomon Islands is threatening to oust the Australian-led peace mission, known as RAMSI, from its soil. Leaders from all the 16 PIF members, including those involved in the Moti-related tension, have confirmed their attendance at the summit, according to Tavola. Leaders from Melanesian members of the forum, namely PNG, the Solomons, Vanuatu and Fiji met here on Sunday to coordinate their stance on the Moti issue. They issued a statement condemning the raid on Sogavare's office, describing Australian actions as "provocative, uncalled for and unnecessary." "These actions are certainly a serious violation of Solomon Islands' territorial sovereignty and integrity," the statement said. The diplomatic rows have raised concerns in the region. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark voiced her worries over the future of RAMSI, a multi-nation force to help stabilize social order in the Solomons. Forum Secretary-General Greg Urwin has expressed the hope that the Moti issue will not overshadow cooperation topics at the forum meeting. "Any tension that exists among individual members is something that cuts across our hopes for greater regional co-operation generally and regional cooperation and it's to be hoped that these kind of tensions are allayed rather than worsened," he said. The Fijian foreign minister also said the diplomatic dispute should be prevented from dominating the forum. A key task of the forum is to discuss the Pacific Plan, which was adopted at last year's forum in PNG to set up the roadmap for strengthening and deepening regional cooperation and integration. According to the schedule, a Pacific Plan Annual Report will be submitted to the leaders to review the progress of the plan, list the challenges and outline the task for the year to come. Energy issues, especially the rising oil prices, will be a great challenge for the region, said Tavola. Economic integration issues, including advancing labor mobility, progressing trade negotiations, natural resources management as well as better governance, will be at the top of the agenda, he said. The PIF, set up in 1971, groups Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The forum summit will be officially inaugurated on Tuesday, with a number of smaller group meetings already underway and a series of post-forum meetings with dialog partners to be held on Oct. 26-27. (Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2006) |
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