Page 27 - IB AUG 2019

Opinion

over regional ones has frustrated PIF for years since its incep- of the metropolitan.
tion. A careful and systematic political and economic analysis When all is considered, the French language is already a lan-
of PIF, under various popularly-used analytical lens including, guage of the Pacific, and of Pacific regionalism. SPC is a member
for instance, ‘Actors, political elites, agency and incentives’, will of the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP),
verify this. chaired by the PIFS Secretary General and it uses French as one
That is one question, albeit a critical one, that the Forum and its of its two working languages. It can be envisaged therefore that
Secretariat, PIFS, will have to address. There are others, equally inclusion of the French language to all other PIF meetings is
vexatious. possible but complex and costly in terms of staffing, equipment
French decolonisation, by virtue of its particularity in the con- and logistics.
text of Pacific regionalism, is considered a bilateral issue – that However, linguistics aside, in the context of still-raw French
between PIF members on one side and France, on the other. colonial and post-colonial sentiments, this appears like a red rag
The subject matter may not be relevant for the collective Forum to a bull. It is debated in some circles that if French is added as
Dialogues partners. PIF/PIFS may need to programme a specific a lingua franca, why not any of the national languages of the
bilateral, or a series of bilaterals with France, to raise the matter. Pacific Island Countries? Or why not one of the existing patois?
In the same way PIF/PIFS needs a special bilateral with Indonesia Another vexatious question confronting PIF/PIFS is how to
to raise the issue of West Papua. manage logistically the negotiations for a post-Cotonou agree-
The French voice in regional matters has become more vocal ment. The Pacific ACP (PACP) States have started their nego-
since the membership of French Polynesia and New Caledonia in tiations with the EU on a Pacific-EU Protocol. Neither French
2016. There have been reports of French insistence to be heard Polynesia nor New Caledonia is included in PACP States that
in matters relating to the authority and management of Exclusive negotiate directly with the EU despite their PIF membership. They
Economic Zones (EEZ) of those two PIF members. The Forum cannot therefore sit with PACP States during the negotiations.
Fisheries Agency (FFA) is grappling with this matter when it They do however sit as members of PIF and could have access
comes to related regional fisheries management. to sensitive information about the negotiations. Management of
Furthermore, the use of the French language in regional such information by PIF and also by the Forum Secretariat staff
meetings apart from those of the Secretariat of the Pacific Com- plays a critical role here.
munity (SPC) has been raised. It appears that this comes across To date, French territories have always had their separate provi-
with a carrot on a stick. It is reported that the new PIF members sions under various ACP-EU agreements since Lome 1. How will
would even pay for the introduction of the language and for all French Polynesia and New Caledonia be treated now that they
the concomitant facilities this requires. The offer of payment are members of PIF?
however has attracted unsolicited speculation: that this would • The author is a former Fijian ambassador and Foreign Minister
amount to resources being directly disbursed from the treasury and runs his own consultancy company in Suva, Fiji.

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Islands Business, August 2019 27