The South Pacific Forum : expectations and achievements on major issues, 1971 - 1991
Creators: name: Soedjatmiko
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 1993
Subjects: subject: South Pacific Forum History

description: From the early 1960s the newly emergent' independent states in the South Pacific region changed markedly their orientation toward regional cooperation. After being frustrated by the South Pacific Commission, which was dominated by the colonial powers and its no­ politics convention, the Island leaders wanted to create their own forum where they could discuss their common concerns freely. The process culminated in 1971 when they established a forum with the potential to meet their needs, the South Pacific Forum. The thesis examines the expectations of the Island leaders when they created the Forum, then assesses whether or not those expectations were met after twenty years of its existence. It starts by discussing the historical background to the Forum’s establishment, then examines major political and economic issues which the Forum addressed, i.e. how it confronted the decolonisation process in the region, how it protested against French nuclear testing and how it handled environmental issues. On economic matters, three major subjects are examined in this thesis: regional trade, fisheries and transport. The thesis argues that after two decades the Forum met most of the Island leaders’ expectations. Examination of major political and economic issues suggests that the Island leaders are relatively satisfied with what the Forum has achieved. They believe that the Forum has become the main regional institution and that members benefited significantly from its operation. Although the basic argument for the establishment of the Forum was initially political, from the beginning economic issues have dominated the agenda. The establishment of economic institutions such as SPEC, the FFA, and the PFL and the formalisation of legal arrangements such as SPARTECA, characterised the Forum’s operation in the first decade. Political matters, such as nuclear testing, decolonisation and environment, - which the Forum leaders initially wanted to be major subjects of discussion - were only seriously tackled by the leaders in the second decade. Though resolutions against nuclear testing were released from the mid-1970s, it was not until 1985 that the Forum agreed to the Rarotonga treaty. The Forum’s desire to protect the environment, which was also politically motivated, was translated into practical policy in the mid-1980s. Similarly, the Forum tackled decolonisation issues effectively, especially the troubled case of New Caledonia. The Forum’s achievements on those main issues have added to its strength as a regional institution. Interestingly, many of its successes have been in dealing with countries outside the region. The Rarotonga treaty is directed mainly against France and partly against other nuclear powers and other nuclear states having territory in the region. The SPREP convention is more or less the same. The Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Driftnet is also directed against distant-water fishing nations. The Multilateral Fisheries Treaty with the US is no exception. The Forum’s capacity for effective negotiation with countries outside the region culminated when the President of the most powerful country in the world, George Bush, invited leaders of the Forum countries to a summit meeting in Honolulu in October 1990. Another significant success of the Forum and its sub-agencies has been their role in attracting more foreign aid to the region, both through bilateral and/or multilateral arrangements administered by the Forum Secretariat and other agencies under the Forum’s umbrella. The increase in foreign aid to the region during the twenty-year period has been partly a result of the Forum’s role. The Island leaders’ dream that their unity would result in stronger bargaining power has become reality. Although in certain areas of cooperation they have conflicting national interests, they generally have common aims when dealing with countries outside the region. Apart from their collective strength, individually Forum members appreciate opportunities to speak freely and at length, opportunities rarely open to them in international fora. The Post- Forum dialogue arrangement started in 1989 has increased the occasions for extended discussion.