Partners in Blue Pacific

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• The US and its allies- Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom have launched a new initiative called ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’.
• The initiative is launched for “effective and efficient cooperation” with the region’s small island nations.

About Partners in Blue Pacific

• The PBP is a five-nation “informal mechanism” to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region. 
• It speaks of enhancing “prosperity, resilience, and security” in the Pacific through closer cooperation. 
• It simply means that through the PBP, member countries together and individually will direct more resources for small island nations.

Focus areas

• The initiative members declared that they will “elevate Pacific regionalism”, and forge stronger ties with the Pacific Islands Forum.
• In a joint statement released to announce the initiative, the five member nations said that the forum remains open to cooperating with additional partners.
• The areas where PBP aims to enhance cooperation include “climate crisis, connectivity and transportation, maritime security and protection, health, prosperity, and education”.

Countering China’s growing Pacific ambition?

• As China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands in April, the deal flagged serious concerns about the Chinese military getting a base in the southern Pacific, close to the US island territory of Guam, and right next to Australia and New Zealand.
• The deal, which boosted Beijing’s quest to dominate crucial shipping lanes crisscrossing the region, rattled the US and its allies.

Strategic importance of Pacific 

• Among the 10 largest standing armies in the world, 7 reside in the Indo-Pacific; and 6 countries in the region possess nuclear weapons. 
• Nine of the world’s 10 busiest seaports are in the region, and 60 percent of global maritime trade transits through Asia, with roughly one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea alone.