Modi in Fiji: Visit of Geo-Strategic Significance

By Deepak Parvatiyar

November 24, 2014

Castling plays an important role as an effective defensive strategy in chess. It also strikes a fine balance between defence and offence. This applies to international diplomacy as well.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s day long stopover at Fiji on November 19 while returning home from Australia after attending the G20 summit could well be termed an example of castling. His visit preceded a three-day visit of the tiny island country by the Chinese President Xi Jingping. The Australian foreign minister too is expected to visit Fiji soon.

This was Modi’s first visit to the region and the first by an Indian prime minister after late India Gandhi visited the tiny nation in 1981. His Fijian counterpart Voreqe Bainimarama received him at the airport.

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Fiji’s Strategic Location in South Pacific Region

While the strategic location of Fiji is crucial for the regional powers, what has made leaders of the regional superpowers of Asia-Pacific making bee line to Suva is its return to democracy after an eight-year long spell of military rule – a period when China did raise its profile across the South Pacific that comprises a dozen island nations with vast fishing grounds, deep-sea mineral deposits, vital sea lines of communication and model vantage points for military power projection.

The region is also an important location for monitoring space and Fiji did host Indian scientists for tracking the Mars Mission, Mangalyaan for which Modi expressed his gratitude in his address to the Fijian Parliament and later in his special “mini-summit’ meeting with the leaders of the Pacific Islands, offered cooperation in use of space technology applications with them.

In the past, by giving prominence to China, Fiji had deftly played its card to ensure attention from the USA and Japan. It in the process, it also forced Australia and New Zealand, to rework its policies towards South Pacific Islands.

Fiji’s Geo-strategic Significance for India

Now with India into the play, means greater regional balance and better opportunities for the islanders as India has good relations with countries in the region including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Naura. Fiji realises its geo-strategic significance for India too in the wake of China’s spread in the maritime zones of Asia-Pacific.

For India, the large presence of the Indian diaspora (about 37 per cent of the total population) is an opportunity to expand its base in the region. More so, because following the constitutional, legal and political reforms that end the race-based politics with the introduction of one-man-one-vote based electoral system, Fiji now hopes political stability and seeks to play “an increasing role on the wider global stage”. (Fiji in the past had a history of coups resulting in toppling of elected governments in 1987, 2000 and 2006).

Modi’s Visit Strengthened India-Fiji Bilateral Co-operation

In his address to the Fijian parliament – the first foreign leader to address the House after the elections – he offered India’s partnership in making Fiji’s “existing industries stronger and finding new opportunities for the youth”. He announced doubling the scholarships and training slots for Fijians in India and also announced a visa on arrival facility for them. He offered India’s help in building a digital Fiji “to integrate Fiji into the global IT network”.

As expected, Modi also touched upon the issue of climate change in – an area of concern for the low lying South Pacific island nations – both in the Fijian parliament as well as at a specially convened “mini-summit” meeting with the leaders of the Pacific islands. He talked of setting up of a special adaptation fund of $1 million to provide assistance and training for capacity building to the Pacific Island nations.

Several Agreements Signed between India and Fiji

While 15 bilateral agreements on a wide range of subjects including trade, agriculture, health, sports are on the anvil now, India and Fiji also signed three agreements during Modi’s visit with regard to:

a) The exchange of land for a new chancery building in New Delhi

b) Diplomatic exchanges to enable Fijian diplomats’ to train at the Indian government’s Foreign Service Institute

c) Project financing for an electricity co-generation plant funded through the Exim Bank of India

As part of the agreements, India offered a 70 million dollar credit line to Fiji for a co-generation power plant and another five million dollar credit line for upgrading the sugar industry, besides a five million dollar grant to strengthen and modernise Fiji`s village, small and medium industries.

India Needs to Counter Growing Chinese Influence in Fiji

China remains a major competitor to India in Fiji. In 2013, India’s exports to the tiny island country stood at $4.76 million as compared to China’s $27.29 million. The Chinese stakes are ever getting higher as its foreign direct investment is Fiji account for around 37 percent of the value of projects registered this year. It was just 2.9 percent in 2009!

India offers to be a natural ally after Fiji’s return to democracy. Former military chief, Voreqe Bainimarama’s newly formed FijiFirst Party that won over 59 per cent of the votes polled, could provide political stability as it gathered support from Fiji’s main ethnic groups. (This despite the fact that the main opposition party of the country boycotted Modi’s address to Parliament on grounds that the government reneged on an invitation for the Leader of the Opposition to give a vote of thanks to the Indian PM).

Fiji’s transition to democracy, however, is indeed an opportunity that requires deft handling to constrain China’s superiority in the region.

This explains why a democratic Fiji has emerged as an important destination for the regional superpowers of Asia Pacific.

It is in this light, therefore, an understanding between the two countries to expand their defence and security cooperation should be considered as a significant takeaway for Modi in Fiji. Overall, Modi’s visit to Fiji signals a crucial review of India’s strategy on South Pacific nations. Wasn’t it long overdue?