India & South Pacific: Key takeaways from PM Modi’s visit; China’s diplomatic presence

Visuals of Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet have been seen as a reflection of India’s global status and the significance of its engagement with Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC). After meeting United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who stood in for President Joe Biden who had to return to the US for talks on the debt ceiling crisis, Marape said: “This is an extraordinary day for us. We have two extremely important meetings today — separated but joined at the hip, if I can call it this way.” PICs is a cluster of 14 island nations dotting the Southwestern Pacific: the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. All these islands are located at the crossroads of strategically important maritime trade corridors.