On a whirlwind visit last week that included Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, dedicated the new US Embassy in Tonga, met with the leaders of Tonga, as well as joined Tonga’s Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku in answering questions from the Press.
Tonga’s Prime Minister referred to the enduring links Tonga and the United States shared; and emphasised that we “must work together to pursue our shared values for freedom and democracy.”
It is the 50th anniversary of US – Tonga diplomatic relations, yet the Prime Minister said US engagement with Tonga went all the way back to World War II when at one time there were more US marines in Tonga than there were Tongans.
In his 8-hour visit to Tonga, Secretary Blinken emphasised that “when we talk about ‘free and open’, we mean a region where all countries are free to choose their own path and their own partners; where problems are dealt with openly; where rules are reached transparently and applied fairly; where goods, where ideas, where people can move freely and lawfully.”
But when asked about the geopolitical climate in the region, he pointed out that the nature of some of China’s engagements as being “predatory”.
“We have no objection to the investments by any other country, including China,” he said. But he expressed concerns that there may be political strings attached, and there have been increasingly problematic behavior, including the assertion by China of unlawful maritime claims… and “some predatory economic activities, and also investments that are done in a way that can actually undermine good governance and promote corruption.”
There was no Chinese official presence at the Press Conference to respond to the comments made by the US Secretary of State. But it is understood that the two superpowers are in a geopolitical strategic competition, vying for equal levels of engagement with the sovereign nations of the Pacific region.