Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Pacific Island nation of Tonga for the first time on Wednesday and took aim at China, blasting Beijing’s activities in the region as “predatory” and “problematic.”
“As China’s engagement in the region has grown, there has been some — from our perspective — increasingly problematic behavior,” Blinken said at a joint press conference with Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku.
He warned against Chinese investments, claiming Beijing was behind “some predatory economic activities, and also investments that are done in a way that can actually undermine good governance and promote corruption.”
Tonga is located about 1,000 miles north of New Zealand and consists of about 170 islands with a population of just over 100,000. Blinken’s trip marks the first official visit to Tonga by a US Secretary of State as the US is looking to boost ties with Pacific Island nations as part of its strategy against China.
During his visit, Blinken dedicated a new US embassy in the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa. His trip came after the State Department told Congress it was planning a massive ramp-up of diplomatic personnel at new Pacific Island embassies.
The US Indo-Pacific Strategy released in February 2022 calls for the US to expand its diplomatic and military presence in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. China has warned against the strategy, comparing it to NATO’s buildup near Russia and saying it could cause a Ukraine-style “tragedy.”
Blinken arrived in New Zealand after visiting Tonga and will travel to Australia next for a meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their Australian counterparts on July 28-29.
“massive ramp-up of diplomatic personnel”
Soo…we’re putting a bunch a diplomats, spies, and troops on random Pacific islands that no one has ever heard all in the name of countering China. In the meantime, China is building ports and infrastructure and investing in these countries. Who do you prefer? A bunch of Americans coming to lecture you about corruption and democracy while militarizing the islands and the Chinese who’s coming to build ports, roads, and do business?
We already know how most of the world feels about the gentle application of US power. We also know how the third world feels about the humanitarian efforts of the Chinese. That is what the US is going to fight against with ALL means.
Those islands were important in 1942-3 in the Pacific War, a real focus and well known for circa 18 months. Think Guadalcanal. By 1944 it was a backwater.
Why? It is the route to Australia/NZ from the US. Today, there is new interest in building up US forces in Australia. Hence, the supply line gets attention just the same as before.
I am a New Zealander, born in the 1950s so have seen a lot of what has gone on in the intervening years. America has had no interest (and still doesn’t) in our country particularly when we went nuclear free. In fact we were totally castigated and sent to the naughty corner for years over it.
Now it is a whole different story. Blinken coming to NZ and running around telling us how great we are just makes me totally angry. Please stay away with your predatory and problematic attitude Blinky Boy.
Now where’s that free trade agreement that has been hung over our heads for as long as I can remember with absolutely no positive results for our country.
Blinken should really STFU…!
That certainly applies to a lot of our public servants{sic}
I heard that a slogan is catching on throughout Asia:
“China builds. The US bombs.”
And Africa. A very high percentage of African nations sent representatives to Putin’s Russia-Africa summit. This is quite a few nations that defied US pressure and went anyways.
Pot calls kettle black.
Projection is a hell of a drug, and Blinken is high as a satellite.
I just read somewhere that China is rolling out the Belt and Roadster initiative to address concerns about their Belt and Road coming in to strip mine, drill oil wells and other wonderful things that will make a country’s elites even richer while the population toils away in this great new projects (or else).
They are going to go hands on and do the ugly American thing and build schools, immunizations and dig wells.
Real small projects that we pay NGOs to get involved with and do good works at the local level.
How dare those Chinese says Blinky!
Whatever they are up to must be terrible because it really resembles what we do….
There IS a predatory aspect to capitalism, so the 86% of the Chinese peopke who don’t belong to the CPC are allowed to practice this..
The CPC’s Belt & Road Initiative continues to impress; recently opening a rail link between Chonqqing and Malaysia; transiting both Laos and Thailand..
So much for his charm offensive. True, Biden himself pretty much wrecked that as soon as he got home, but now Blinken himself is doing his best to destroy whatever good he tried to do.
Blinken follows orders. That’s all he does. He isn’t a SOS, he’s a mouthpiece playing student in government day.
White man speaks with forked tongue.
Teleconference and save the planet from global warming, Blinken. All that tax-payer funded travel must end.
Does he really think the Tongans swallow this blatant vulgar self serving hypocrisy? How much is he bribing them?
Top US Diplomat undiplomatically blasts China: “Your actions are ‘Predatory,’ while our actions are ‘humanitarian!'” That’s not “problematic.” “Problematic” is, why did China allow this idiot to enter China and meet Xi last month? (Sarcasm)
Blinken idiot
The guy is a twit.
You are too kind.
Blinken is worse than the German nut job Baerbock, who would have thought that is even possible?
Putin would never have picked anyone as incompetent as Blinken for SoS, but now Biden really outperformed himself by promoting the truly evil Nuland to deputy SoS, to replace the limited neocon Wendy Sherman. How much deeper can they sink?
Still, as bad as it is, it can’t be worse than it was. Nuland was de facto already there, but maybe her pay check will move up a notch.
Yes indeed, topping Baerbock is quite an achievement. Morawieki is also in the running along with Sullivan, Wallace and Johnson as candidates for top nutjobs. The list is really long though. Maybe Johnson should be taken off the list as he has been made toothless. He’s still gumming away though.
How many CIA agents will be diplomats in disguise with all the diplomatic privilege’s that come with diplomatic titles?
How many of the American hostages in Iran were diplomats and how many were really CIA agents disguised as diplomats in 198o? Maybe more than half of them.
Seriously? The front man for the largest criminal organization on the planet criticising any other country is laughable.