SYDNEY, Australia – The Pacific Islands’ most important regional body is on the verge of collapse after a dispute over the election of a new leader led the nation of Palau to abandon the organization and announce the withdrawal of its embassy from Fiji.
Other Micronesian countries may follow Palau out of the group, the Pacific Islands Forum, which could hamper momentum in addressing climate change. The forum has been the region’s megaphone, screaming for action on the world stage, while those living on hundreds of islands are inundated by rising sea and hit by more catastrophic storms.
“They said in the past that the relationship in the Pacific is unique – it’s like a family,” said Jonathan Pryke, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute, an independent study group in Sydney. “Having a family member leave is a bad sign.”
The forum was founded in 1971 as a representative body for the South Pacific, then expanded in 1999 to include the North Pacific, and divisions within the 18-nation organization (now 17 and decreasing) are not uncommon. Fiji was suspended from the group after a coup in 2009, returning in 2015. Six years ago, a dispute over who would lead the group as its secretary general was resolved only after a walk and a long conversation between a handful of influential leaders.
But this year, because of the pandemic, that was not possible. Covid kept the Pacific family separate: the annual forum was held at Zoom and the dozens of personal meetings that usually precede the meeting did not take place.
Pryke said the lack of connection appears to have contributed to the explosion of long-standing frustrations.
In general, Micronesia countries in the North Pacific – with smaller populations and economies – have complained about being marginalized by the larger southern countries, including Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.
To help manage this, the forum has developed a tradition of rotating the post of secretary general among the leaders of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.
This week, that protocol broke into a heated MMA.
A flurry of candidates emerged in the first ballots, and Thursday’s final elections elevated a former Cook Islands prime minister, Henry Puna, to the post of secretary general. In simple terms, it was Micronesia’s turn, but its candidate, Gerald Zackios, the Marshall Islands ambassador to the United States, lost the final count by one vote.
Publicly, the forum said that its decision was motivated by strong support for Puna.
Surangel Whipps Jr., president of Palau, described the result as an act of disrespect.
“The process of nominating the secretary general has clearly indicated to the Republic of Palau that unity, regionalism and the ‘Pacific Path’ no longer guide the forum,” he said.
Mr. Pryke, from the Lowy Institute, called the absence of consensus “a setback” for the group, at a time when unity is especially important.
“The Pacific is facing major existential crises, the main one being climate change,” he said. “They have been vocal advocates around the world, way above their size and stature, largely because of the unity you see in the Pacific – which seems to be rapidly breaking down.”