By: Muhammad Nizar
As we know that South Pacific Isles are the location of full vulnerability in all aspects of life. Politically, South Pacific is under hegemony of Australia, New Zealand, France, British, United States of America, and Peoples Republic of China. These rich countries play certain strategic agenda in the region. Most of their strategic is natural resources issue. South Pacific has enough natural resources; they are many kinds of metal, fisheries, forestry, mining, etc. Economically, South Pacific countries are dependent to aid from the First World which I said above. South Pacific is poor region that constraint to the liberalism economic by the First World.
Because of economic and politic issue above, sovereignty of South Pacific countries decrease itself. From the decreasing sovereign will also decrease the security internally and externally. Internally aspects, South Pacific face the tangible problems like food security & climate change, secession, ethnic conflict, poverty, military coup, intervention of military forces, etc. These internal problems always attack security of South Pacific. Mostly, analysts said that South Pacific is fail state according to many of problems with bad governance until bad organized in the sector of grassroots. Like Timor Leste, it is new country dependent from Indonesia. Timor Leste doesn’t have good governance and law enforcement that very needed for establishing good state. Plus, Timor Leste is under Australian hegemony. Timor Gap is an oil mining located at south of Timor Leste, the result of that oil mining mostly brought out to Australia. The poor educations of Timor’s people will only a soft target by Australia to fully control Timor Gap. Not only Timor Leste, Solomon Islands also has problematic issue of ethnic conflict. There are 2 gap in the society of Solomon Islands, they are Guadalcanalese and Malaitan. Both societies diverse each other and the result is conflict. That conflict brought unstable politics and economy to the state. Each group of those is fully armed and always ready to gun fighting. The Solomon Islands government can’t control and make peace keeping to both of societies. Then Australia peace keeping force takes a part to the region. Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) is the strategic agenda by Australia to Solomon Islands in discouraging the ethnic conflict. Until now, RAMSI still exists in there.
From the security looking, Solomon Islands have failed in managing its internal security. This is why analyst said that the lack of sovereignty is the lack of security. Australia is the main actor that able fully hegemony to the region. From my interviewed with one of student from Papua New Guinea (PNG) who take master degree in Airlangga University, he said that Australia also take a part in encouraging the corruption in the region to weakened the internal security. This means PNG also has poor security in its defense system. But, PNG also has certain strategic group in the region. PNG ever gave assistant to Vanuatu (1980) in finishing the problem of Santo (belligerent). Even though, PNG Defense Force acted as military intervention to Vanuatu, but the local government of Vanuatu needed enough to PNG assist. According to Douglas Ranmuthugala (2001), this is very reasonable in the Melanesia country because only PNG, Fiji, and Tonga which have military forces. We should give credit to Fiji military forces because it ever acted in the peace keeping at the Middle East region. Both Fiji and PNG also served in World War II. But Tonga is different, even though that country has military forces, it never use in affair to other state.
In the other hand, we can see that external aspects also influence in the region. In my analyses, the external aspects are hegemony, neo-colonialist, neo-imperialism, environment issue, impacting of nuclear testing in the past, global warming, etc. Form my introduction above, South Pacific has problem on poverty. Because of that, rich country like Australia, New Zealand, China, UK, USA, even Taiwan want to take a part in the region. All of states above want to be a hegemonic power that can control and exploit the natural resources. It means, from the hegemonic action above will bring South Pacific to the neo-colonialist and neo-imperialism. Especially for Australia, that country direct control the region by joined in the Pacific Forum. At first, Pacific Forum only mediates among member which is Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. But, Australia and New Zealand don’t want to left behind and always joins in all of Pacific Meeting in order to intensive control. The case for Beijing - Taipe in the region is uniquely. Taiwan has pragmatic in its aid to Solomon Islands because that country wants to get recognition which can be needed in diplomatic agenda with United Nations.
According to Christopher Richter (2004), in the year 2000, a report by the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum (Forsec) identified ethnic differences, land disputes, economic disparities, and a general lack of confidence in corrupt or ineffective governments as the main causes of conflict in the region. All of issues above will bring to the next issue like breakdowns in law and order, decreasing the standards of live, education, and healthy services, economic stagnation, environmental degradation, food security issues, transnational crime, money laundering, illegal immigration, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, and of course terrorism. All of those can happen continually, especially for poor region.
At last but not least, South Pacific security has many holes. I think that it is not little hole but big hole. There is no good order that can reduce and minimize the security disputes. The attendance of hegemonic power only reduces and discourages the South Pacific security. Because hegemonic power has certain definition about security that sometimes doesn’t match with the South Pacific peoples want. Because of that, the struggle for power is much needed for the South Pacific to attack out internal and external security factors especially.
╠ The End ╣
Because of economic and politic issue above, sovereignty of South Pacific countries decrease itself. From the decreasing sovereign will also decrease the security internally and externally. Internally aspects, South Pacific face the tangible problems like food security & climate change, secession, ethnic conflict, poverty, military coup, intervention of military forces, etc. These internal problems always attack security of South Pacific. Mostly, analysts said that South Pacific is fail state according to many of problems with bad governance until bad organized in the sector of grassroots. Like Timor Leste, it is new country dependent from Indonesia. Timor Leste doesn’t have good governance and law enforcement that very needed for establishing good state. Plus, Timor Leste is under Australian hegemony. Timor Gap is an oil mining located at south of Timor Leste, the result of that oil mining mostly brought out to Australia. The poor educations of Timor’s people will only a soft target by Australia to fully control Timor Gap. Not only Timor Leste, Solomon Islands also has problematic issue of ethnic conflict. There are 2 gap in the society of Solomon Islands, they are Guadalcanalese and Malaitan. Both societies diverse each other and the result is conflict. That conflict brought unstable politics and economy to the state. Each group of those is fully armed and always ready to gun fighting. The Solomon Islands government can’t control and make peace keeping to both of societies. Then Australia peace keeping force takes a part to the region. Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) is the strategic agenda by Australia to Solomon Islands in discouraging the ethnic conflict. Until now, RAMSI still exists in there.
From the security looking, Solomon Islands have failed in managing its internal security. This is why analyst said that the lack of sovereignty is the lack of security. Australia is the main actor that able fully hegemony to the region. From my interviewed with one of student from Papua New Guinea (PNG) who take master degree in Airlangga University, he said that Australia also take a part in encouraging the corruption in the region to weakened the internal security. This means PNG also has poor security in its defense system. But, PNG also has certain strategic group in the region. PNG ever gave assistant to Vanuatu (1980) in finishing the problem of Santo (belligerent). Even though, PNG Defense Force acted as military intervention to Vanuatu, but the local government of Vanuatu needed enough to PNG assist. According to Douglas Ranmuthugala (2001), this is very reasonable in the Melanesia country because only PNG, Fiji, and Tonga which have military forces. We should give credit to Fiji military forces because it ever acted in the peace keeping at the Middle East region. Both Fiji and PNG also served in World War II. But Tonga is different, even though that country has military forces, it never use in affair to other state.
In the other hand, we can see that external aspects also influence in the region. In my analyses, the external aspects are hegemony, neo-colonialist, neo-imperialism, environment issue, impacting of nuclear testing in the past, global warming, etc. Form my introduction above, South Pacific has problem on poverty. Because of that, rich country like Australia, New Zealand, China, UK, USA, even Taiwan want to take a part in the region. All of states above want to be a hegemonic power that can control and exploit the natural resources. It means, from the hegemonic action above will bring South Pacific to the neo-colonialist and neo-imperialism. Especially for Australia, that country direct control the region by joined in the Pacific Forum. At first, Pacific Forum only mediates among member which is Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. But, Australia and New Zealand don’t want to left behind and always joins in all of Pacific Meeting in order to intensive control. The case for Beijing - Taipe in the region is uniquely. Taiwan has pragmatic in its aid to Solomon Islands because that country wants to get recognition which can be needed in diplomatic agenda with United Nations.
According to Christopher Richter (2004), in the year 2000, a report by the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum (Forsec) identified ethnic differences, land disputes, economic disparities, and a general lack of confidence in corrupt or ineffective governments as the main causes of conflict in the region. All of issues above will bring to the next issue like breakdowns in law and order, decreasing the standards of live, education, and healthy services, economic stagnation, environmental degradation, food security issues, transnational crime, money laundering, illegal immigration, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, and of course terrorism. All of those can happen continually, especially for poor region.
At last but not least, South Pacific security has many holes. I think that it is not little hole but big hole. There is no good order that can reduce and minimize the security disputes. The attendance of hegemonic power only reduces and discourages the South Pacific security. Because hegemonic power has certain definition about security that sometimes doesn’t match with the South Pacific peoples want. Because of that, the struggle for power is much needed for the South Pacific to attack out internal and external security factors especially.
╠ The End ╣
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