SOUTH KOREA – OCEANIA Seoul with the Pacific islands: cooperation and fight against climate change

For the first time, South Korea hosted the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit. The event was an opportunity to discuss sustainable development and maritime issues. The Yoon administration has shown growing interest in the region, an important geopolitical and economic center.

Seoul () – On May 29 and 30, the first Korea-Pacific Islands Summit was held in South Korea. Co-chaired by President Yoon Suk-yeol and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, the event was attended by representatives of 17 of the 18 Pacific Island Forum countries and provided a useful platform for discussing the future relations between Korea and the Pacific. The main theme, chosen by the host country, was “Navigating towards Co-Prosperity: Strengthening Cooperation with the Blue Pacific” (Navigating towards shared prosperity: strengthening cooperation with the Blue Pacific), and precisely following the principle of shared prosperity the participants promised to strengthen their cooperation. His areas of interest include maritime affairs, in particular the protection of the oceans against radioactive material, sustainable development, the fight against climate change and the capacity to react to natural disasters.

South Korea used the summit to forge diplomatic relations with the island state of Niue, which is not yet a member of the United Nations, and to separately present its Action Plan for the Pacific Islands, based on three pillars: resilience, to improve the response of countries to disasters caused by climate change; reinforcement of measures to help the region develop its potential; and revitalization, to increase connectivity, physical and digital for post-pandemic development. The president also pledged to double official development assistance (ODA) to a total of about $40 million by 2027.

For the Yoon administration, the summit is an important step to intensify influence in a region that is growing in geopolitical importance, with an area that corresponds to approximately 15% of the planet and is vital for the realization of the Indo-Pacific strategy. The initiative, which was announced in 2022 and caught the attention of Washington and Beijing, envisions the creation of a free, peaceful and prosperous zone.

The project suggests a shift in Korean foreign policy, which in its Indo-Pacific relations seeks to align more with the United States and Australia to counter growing Chinese influence. From a perspective of increasing importance, Yoon would seek a synergy between the objectives of his administration and those of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, the long-term development plan of the 18 member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum. .

Fishing and maritime business is a key sector, not only because of the islands’ vulnerability to climate change and rising sea levels, but also because of the role of the fishing industry in the relationship between Seoul and the islands themselves. The Republic of Kiribati, for example, has an exclusive economic zone of 3.5 million square kilometres, most of which is tuna-rich Pacific waters. In the past, the government has sold licenses to commercial companies in Taiwan, Spain, the United States and even South Korea, which nonetheless endanger the country with illegal fishing practices and undercutting of catches. This not only puts small local fishermen at a disadvantage, but also a risk to the entire ecosystem.

South Korea itself has recently been linked to illegal fishing practices in the Pacific and one of its vessels was prevented from offloading a cargo of more than 4,000 kg of tuna in Bangkok for using unauthorized Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). its acronym in English). Data collected by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) shows that this is not an isolated case, and that such practices may be common on other ships in Seoul. Fishing and related activities could thus become a key aspect of the collaboration promoted by Yoon, in pursuit of sustainable development in economic and environmental terms for the Pacific countries.