The Development Needs of Pacific Island Countries
way to facilitate understanding of Pacific societies and cultures. It would also be possible to support Pacific scholars to work at the Institute for short periods. Cooperation beyond development assistance could also be sought. Among Chinese NGOs, many issues that are garnering attention in China, such as deforestation, wildlife smuggling and over-exploitation of marine resources have a Pacific dimension. PNG, for example, is China’s second largest source of timber after Russia, with much of it illegally logged by Malaysian companies. It is also a base for shark finning, a trade that is the target of an ongoing campaign involving Chinese basket-baller Yao Ming. It would be possible to follow DFID’s lead in funding research by reputable Chinese NGOs, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, in the Pacific. Our interviews indicated that Pacific civil society organizations, private sector representatives and universities were enthusiastic about development cooperation. This was not always the case with Pacific government representatives.
6.3.
It takes three (or more) to Tango
Other development actors should not assume that their Pacific or Chinese partners always see development cooperation as a desirable goal. In one of our earliest interviews, a Samoan official, on hearing of our research, exclaimed, I’m thankful that you’ve come to me at this stage, not earlier; otherwise they [China] wouldn’t have done what they have done [in building the national hospital]… [The traditional donors] start something good, everything is going very well, and suddenly they switch to something else. It’s almost like [traditional] donors decide they don’t want you to do too well.
Pacific officials, particularly politicians, were appreciative of the speed and flexibility of Chinese aid, and felt that a degree of donor fragmentation increased their sense of empowerment, and presented them with more choices. When it came to large projects – such as the reconstruction of Nuku’alofa, new government offices, or facilities for the South Pacific Games – the research team was often asked, “Who else was going to do it?” From the China Foreign Aid White Papers, which express China’s willingness to reform and innovate their foreign aid practices, to the drawing up of new country and regional strategies for the Pacific, there are indications that the Chinese government wishes to move to away from isolated projects towards a more coordinated aid strategy.92 Yet China’s position in the Pacific donor landscape means that there is a risk of path dependence, as there is no other emerging donor that can provide comparable access to development finance. The views expressed in the China Foreign Aid White Papers may not necessarily represent those of Chinese officials and companies on the ground who are tasked with implementing
92
See note 21.
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