Is resentment towards China also growing in the countries of the Pacific Ocean region?

China has made rapid inroads into the Pacific Ocean in recent years as it seeks to exert its influence and challenge many countries that have traditionally had strong ties with the US and Australia. In such a situation, the question arises that what do the people of the countries around the Pacific Ocean think about the expansion of China’s interests and activities in the region. To find out, surveys were recently conducted in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, two countries where China has focused on increasing its influence in recent years. Let us tell you that both the countries have adopted the foreign policy of “friend to all and enmity to none”.

Papua New Guinea is China’s major diplomatic and trade partner in the region. Prime Minister James Marape recently visited China, where he and Chinese leaders discussed their deepening economic and security ties. During this, there was also discussion regarding common currency trade agreement. Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands revoked diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in September 2019, following which its ties with China have rapidly strengthened. China has made large-scale efforts to increase cooperation with the government of Prime Minister M Sogavare in trade, agriculture, health, fisheries and police etc.

The first survey sought to assess the corporate social responsibilities of the Chinese-owned Ramu Nico project in Papua New Guinea from the perspective of people who currently live or have lived in Madang Province, where the project is located. We took responses from a total of 100 people, mainly current and former students and staff of Divine Word University. In 2019, a nickel mine operator had to apologize for accidentally releasing nearly 200,000 liters of toxic solution into a creek in the province. The majority of respondents (98 percent) said they were concerned about environmental pollution, while about 60 percent said the mine project would not bring any benefits to Papua New Guinea.

When people were asked whether they supported the previous government’s decision to give approval for the project to Chinese-owned company Ramu Nico, 70 per cent replied “no”. However, people living in the mining lease area have a more positive view of the project due to direct financial benefits in the form of ‘royalties’ or ancillary businesses. 72 percent of participants said they support the Papua New Guinea government deepening ties with China.

The second survey interviewed 78 students from Papua New Guinea who had received scholarships from the Chinese government. Most respondents (87 percent) said they would tell their friends about this scholarship program. Studying in China has also changed his perception about the country. Before these students traveled to China, they were asked to score the Chinese political system on a scale of one to five (from very low influence to very high influence) in comparison to the political systems of Western countries. Students gave China’s system before studying abroad an average score of 3.45 out of five. After starting the program and living in China for a while, this average score increased to 4.01.

For the third survey, 93 students from Solomon National University were asked about their views about China and countries like the US and Australia. Two-thirds of respondents were supportive of closer bilateral relations between China and the Solomon Islands, but support for closer ties with the US was even higher (76 percent). Nearly 80 percent of students in the Solomon Islands also supported China’s ‘Belt and Road’ projects. “They are very helpful in the construction and maintenance of our roads,” wrote one participant. However, about 20 percent of the participants had a more negative view. For example, one student said, “Their aim is to create credit risk for our government and this will give China control over our entire resources.”