Why China can’t control these Pacific islands | DW News

Tensions are again rising in the Pacific over the status of Taiwan, the democratically-ruled island which China sees as its own. Taiwan attended the September 2026 Pacific Island Forum meeting, represented by Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung. China strongly objected to this, saying it would have “consequences”. China has long been trying to persuade Pacific islands to drop recognition of Taiwan and have relations only with Beijing. President of the host country of Palau, one of the few nations that have maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan, has said: “Our partners are welcome to sail with us, but they do not choose our destination." This fresh dispute comes after Beijing launched a ballistic missile test in the Pacific in July 2026, causing alarm in some Pacific island states. The launch came only hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defense treaty. The US and Australia have long been alarmed that China is trying to dominate the Pacific. And that includes gaining influence with the small Pacific Island countries for whom the ocean is home. China has struck a flurry of deals with Pacific Island countries, including on security, and the US and Australia fear that China wants to use some of the islands for military purposes. But for the independent Pacific Islands — like Tuvalu, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and their neighbors — the situation looks totally different. For them, security means only one thing: Dealing with climate change. They are faced with an existential threat. Sea levels are rising so fast on these low-lying islands that some could disappear by the end of the century. And they are forcing bigger countries to listen to them on climate. While China and Australia chase their own interests, the Pacific Islands are prepared to walk out on deals that ignore the climate issue and play bigger powers off against each other. Illegal fishing, coastal adaptation, securing their Exclusive Economic Zones, and even having to create a digital twin of the country to preserve its culture and heritage, are just some of the challenges Pacific Island countries face. But unique deals like the Falepili Union with Australia show: the Pacific Islands can stand up to bigger countries and get what they want. Chapters: 00:00 Unique deals with China and Australia 00:37 Introducing the Pacific Island countries 02:15 AUKUS, a US-UK-Australia pact for nuclear submarines 02:51 US-China competition in the Pacific over Taiwan 04:19 The climate threat 05:40 China-Solomon Islands security deal 06:44 Pacific Islands between China and Taiwan 08:16 Sea level rise in the Pacific 09:14 The colonial era, WWII and nuclear testing 10:47 The Pacific Island Forum, the Blue Pacific, and large ocean states 12:03 Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), tuna, fishing, overfishing and seabed mining 13:57 Falepili Union, Tuvalu and its digital twin 15:19 Vanuatu and climate change #MappedOut #China #Pacific For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ Follow DW on social media: ►Instagram:   / dwnews   ►TikTok:   / dwnews   ►Facebook:   / deutschewellenews   ►Twitter:   / dwnews   Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie:    / dwdeutsch   Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutsche...