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US-led ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ initiative

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    World Affairs
  • Published
    30th Jun, 2022

Context

In a latest development, the United States and its allies have launched a new initiative called ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ for “effective and efficient cooperation” with the region’s small island nations.

What is Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) initiative?

  • The PBP is a five-nation “informal mechanism” to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region. 
  • The initiative includes the US and its allies- Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom. 
  • It speaks of enhancing “prosperity, resilience, and security” in the Pacific through closer cooperation. 
  • It simply means that through the PBP, these countries — together and individually — will direct more resources here to counter China’s aggressive outreach.
  • The initiative members have also declared that they will “elevate Pacific regionalism”, and forge stronger ties with the Pacific Islands Forum.
  • The areas where PBP aims to enhance cooperation include:
  • Climate crisis
  • Connectivity and transportation
  • Maritime security and protection
  • Health
  • Prosperity
  • Education

The region

  • The Indo-Pacific, on the other hand, is an integrated theatre that combines the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and the land masses that surround them. 
  • The Pacific Islands region is home to nearly a fifth of the Earth’s surface.

Important initiatives launched to counter China

  • The US and its partners started the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a trade-boosting play in the region with 13 nations — Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Fiji and Vietnam — as partners.
  • The G7 announced a plan — Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) — to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative by promising to raise $600 billion to fund development projects in low and middle-income countries.

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