The geopolitical scene… China wants to do the expansion that Japan did in the Second World War. China’s attempts to expand its influence are not new, but its efforts seem to have doubled in the past three years. The Pacific region is an important route for transporting products and natural resources from the Far East. Japan’s imports from Australia (Australia supplies half of Japan’s iron ore, coal, and raw cotton) and Japan’s exports to Australia and New Zealand pass through this sea region.
Why is the Pacific important to China? The South China Sea, together with the Strait of Malacca, forms the main transportation route between the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the East China Sea serves as the main shipping route from the South China Sea to Japanese and other North Pacific ports. China has claimed the islands in the South China Sea since 1974. China is expanding its sphere of influence to establish a military base somewhere in the South Pacific through diplomacy, debt or trade.
China – Australia… Australia’s armed forces are built to complement US-led coalitions, so Australia is a natural ally for the US and a partner to support against China. It is stated that China, a strategic enemy, establishing a base in the Solomon Islands will significantly harm the security of Australia and New Zealand. As an event quoted from history; The crisis in 1962 occurred when the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles at America’s southern gate in Cuba. A Chinese military base 2,000 kilometers off the coast of Australia will form a wedge between Australia and its traditional strategic anchor, the United States. A Chinese outpost means more national defense spending for Australia.
Historical reference… In World War II, control over Pacific islands was critical both for the protection of logistics supply lines and for military power planning. Since the war, the Pacific has enjoyed a largely significant status on the geopolitical scene. This has changed with China’s growing presence in the region. Two-way trade with China has outstripped that of Australia. The western Pacific was an important battleground between Japan and the US-led Allies. Japan conquered most of Melanesia and Southeast Asia in World War II and bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into the war. In the advancing phase of the war following the Sino-Japanese war, the Japanese invaded Thailand and attacked the British colonies in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as US military and naval bases in Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines. The most critical battles of the war took place in the Pacific Islands, especially in Guadalcanal.
Conclusion? While the Mediterranean was the center of world trade until the 1500s, geographical discoveries brought Atlantic trade to the fore, today the Pacific trade is a region that needs to be protected due to both the shortening of distances thanks to technology and its proximity to the center. These regions, where first Portugal, then the Netherlands and then England settled during the geographical discoveries and colonial periods, became the battlegrounds of Japan and the USA in the Second World War, and the desire to dominate in this region is not in vain. For the West, potential Chinese Pacific expansion is not a risk to be taken lightly, as it potentially brings major strategic benefits to China. It is now difficult to keep China out of the region. The places where the superpowers meet change in every period according to their economic and geopolitical importance.
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