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Words: Charles MirandaProducer: Anthony Lucas
EXPLAINER
What is China’s end game in the Pacific?
Can an abandoned runway atoll spark a Pacific arms race?That's the fear as China’s slow Pacific creep continues, with  experts warning it threatens to bring a new Cold War at best and a world war at worst.
The runway in question is an abandoned airstrip on a coral atoll in the Kiribati archipelago, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Australia and the U.S.
The US Navy built the airstrip on the tiny island of Kanton during World War II. It was used as a staging post for allied forces in the Pacific and a stopover point for military flights between the US and Australia.
Ignored by the 20 inhabitants of the atoll today, China has offered to bring the runway back to life with an upgrade for ‘civilian use’, under a deal between Beijing and the Kiribati capital, Tarawa.
Together with China’s Solomon Islands security pact and another with Vanuatu, it's what Australian intelligence fears is the start of a military foothold for a chain, one link (nation) at a time.
Euan GrahamSenior fellow, International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore
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This is prime real estate. Most of it is water, but if you connect up those islands, archipelagos, that’s an island chain that runs between Australia and the United States, between Australia and Japan,
Such an interconnectivity could allow China a better ability to delay US warships from moving in the region and disrupt supply lines if and when conflict erupts, most likely over Taiwan.
China expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Dr Pichamon Yeophantong said China’s foreign policy was well known for its incrementalism, a tendency to build block by block deals.
Its expanding bilateral partnerships are part of a strategy to boost its sphere of influence and access to resources and strategic advantage.
Dr Yeophantong said China’s end game was not that different from that of other countries wanting regional security but was likely to lead to an arms race.
The US has recently poured investment into bases at Guam and Palau while Australia is investing in modernising military infrastructure in PNG, and Fiji has a new security pact with the US and UK to deliver nuclear-powered submarines.
Dr Pichamon YeophantongAustralian Defence Force Academy
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Militarisation of the region is of concern and that is why we see hedging behaviour from countries when it comes to them having to make a choice between China or Australia and the US.
																											

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/web-stories/free/herald-sun/what-is-chinas-end-game-in-the-pacific-region