Domestic Political Reforms and China’s Diplomacy in the Pacific:

China’s rise in the Pacific1 is in the spotlight and provoking growing concern from traditional powers. Beijing has substantially increased its engagement with the region since 2006. Chinese President Xi Jinping paid his first official visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in November 2018. On the sidelines of APEC held in Port Moresby, he also met with leaders of the eight Pacific Island countries (PICs) that have diplomatic relations with China. The leaders agreed to elevate the China–PICs relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership of mutual respect and common development (China MFA 2018), although China uses this term loosely in diplomacy and the meaning remains ambiguous. To push back against China’s influence in the region, US Vice President Mike Pence announced at the APEC CEO summit that the US would partner with Australia and PNG to develop Lombrum Naval Base on PNG’s Manus Island and