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Contrary to how we think of ourselves, PNG is a small state. In sea. He concludes, “Increasingly the race to the bottom of the deep
international diplomacy, PNG depends on multilateralism. PNG sea for new developments in biotechnology is also becoming a
aligns with other small states to be effective. Together, small states race to be the first to the patent office”.
are numerically formidable in forums such as the United Nations. Finally, Namorong asserts: “whilst we will feel negative conse-
The Blue Pacific celebrates the idea of ‘collective diplomacy’. quences of climate change, these may not erase our nation from
Collective diplomacy has been effective for small island developing the surface of the earth like they might other Pasifika states”.
states lobbying with other like-minded states. Sure, PNG may not be erased off the surface of the earth. But
Small states in the Pacific have success stories in their lob- parts of PNG’s sovereign space are already facing the prospects of
bying initiatives. PNG has been a partner and a beneficiary in going under water. This will generate its own social and cultural
these initiatives. upheavals.
The high-water mark of collective diplomacy in the Pacific was PNG has recorded some of world’s first cases of “climate
from 1979-1990. The United Nations Convention on the Law of refugees” (in the Bougainville atolls). Islands such as the Duke
the Sea of 1982, the 1985 South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, of Yorks are also densely populated and the easy way out is
and the banning of driftnet fishing of 1989, attest to the ‘power emigration.
in numbers’ in international diplomacy. The dynamics of land ownership and resettlement, as seen
Blue Pacific is a renewed effort in collective diplomacy, especially in the case of the Manam and Carteret resettlement programs,
in light of the current geopolitical rivalry in the Pacific Islands and will come under increasing scrutiny as more low-lying islands
threats of environmental and resources insecurity. of PNG are erased.
PNG needs the Pasifika because in collective diplomacy, it is Social tensions relating to land resources and cultural assimila-
the ‘numbers game’ that matters. PNG does not have any hard tion will be the challenge for PNG.
power capabilities to compel big states to bend to its will. Hence, PNG may not be erased off the face of the earth, but that’s no
it must rely on collective action and the soft power effects of col- sure comfort at all. Some of its cultures, languages and peoples
lective diplomacy. face extinction as a result of climate change and sea level rise.
Moreover, in the global community, Pasifika is a flexible term Surely the Pasifika can teach us to be modest and frugal.
that is used in relation to non-Pacific Islanders. It is contextual Patrick Kaiku teaches in the Political Science Department at the
and denotes certain levels of affinity, much like ‘wantok’. Fijians University of Papua New Guinea
don’t speak Tok Pisin. But I run into a Fijian outside of the Pacific
and he or she is a wantok, simply by virtue of being a Melanesian. The debate first appeared in the blog: Keith Jackson and friends:
A Papua New Guinea, may not physically identify with the PNG attitude at asopa.typepad.com
ocean, but the benefit of Pasifika is its expansiveness and in-
clusivity, just like the physical ocean. That is the whole logic of
Hau’ofa’s “world enlargement” thesis.
Namorong also raises a question, “Is PNG’s economic future
on land or in the ocean like other Pasifika nations?” The simple
answer is yes.
Look at the evidence. PNG is the third largest country in the
Pacific Islands in terms of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) -
behind Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia.
If we are comparing PNG’s land mass (462,840 km²) with it
is total EEZ (2,402,288 km²), PNG is a maritime state because it
has more ocean space, than landmass. Indeed, our participation
in multilateral initiatives like the Parties to the Nauru Agreement
is testament to the resources of the ocean.
Our national security, commerce, and potentially, economic
resources are dependent on the ocean. The Goroka resident,
living thousands of kilometres away from the nearest coastline
may not identify with the sea.
But it is through unrestricted access to important trade routes
on the sea that merchandise produced in Asia or Europe reach
the Goroka resident. The ocean is the lifeblood of PNG’s com-
mercial relations with the outside world and a free and open sea
is in PNG’s national interest.
In terms of resources, the finite land-based resources that are
recklessly being extracted will all be exhausted. Where do we
think people will start looking to extract resources?
Nautilus insists on mining the seafloor of the Bismarck because
of the intellectual property rights from its extractive technology
and scientific knowledge of the seabed. These will be highly
demanded in the foreseeable future when resource scarcity on
the land becomes apparent.
For all we know, the resource wars of the future may be over
tracts of ocean floor rich in rare earth metals and other lucrative
resources. In the areas of bio-prospecting, David Kenneth Leary
identifies the untapped potential of genetic resources of the deep

Islands Business, June 2019 27