A 9 September editorial in The Sydney Morning Herald, titled China and Australia in a high-speed race to win control of the Pacific, offered a vivid picture of the daily contest for influence in the region.

A repost from 12 September 2025

From duelling vehicle donations in Honiara to “kung fu diplomacy”, it painted a familiar picture of Australia and China locked in constant competition. Yet this framing, while colourful, risks entrenching a mindset that has repeatedly undermined Australia’s interests.

Australia has long treated the Pacific as its exclusive sphere of influence. But this attitude has cost us dearly. The Solomon Islands’ 2022 security pact with Beijing was not simply China’s doing – it was the consequence of years in which Canberra neglected Pacific concerns and dismissed their priorities. When island nations warned of climate change as an existential threat, Australia doubled down on fossil fuel exports. When they sought more economic options, our offers fell short. Unsurprisingly, some of our closest neighbours turned to others.

This is more than a matter of pride; it goes to the heart of strategy. When Pacific nations feel ignored or disrespected, they naturally become more receptive to alternative partnerships. By treating influence as an entitlement, Australia has left space for others to step in, often at the expense of our credibility and regional trust.

The SMH editorial’s analogy, likening China’s current role in the Pacific to Imperial Japan’s wartime occupation of the Solomon Islands, is equally misplaced and historically misleading. During World War II, China was an essential ally, suffering tens of millions of casualties, tying down well over a million Japanese troops and preventing Tokyo from redeploying its forces into the Pacific theatre.

Without China’s resistance, campaigns such as Guadalcanal and Papua New Guinea could have been far more catastrophic for Australia. To now equate China with Imperial Japan erases that history, disrespects the sacrifices of a wartime partner, and distorts the lessons we should be drawing. The true lesson is clear: sustainable influence is earned through genuine partnership, not through coercion or historical misrepresentation.

Compounding this, the........

© Pearls and Irritations