Transcript
ANNA POWLES: The sub-text of both aid budgets, actually, is China and concern over an increasingly contested regional order. It's very clear from the Australian budget, particularly, that we see this very strong securitisation of aid and one example, probably the prime example of that is Australia's allocation of development assistance funding towards the building of a new high-speed undersea telecommunications cable for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. And that came out of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei demonstrating interest in doing so. Australia stepped in and has offered to do that but the fact that that money is coming, funding is coming from the aid budget is really concerning. It is extra and that's part of the increase in Australia's aid budget from 1.1 to 1.3 billion (AU dollars) but that said, the use of development funds for a project such as this does raise concerns around securitisation of aid and the blurring of aid here. And the reason why this is concerning, and this is by no means new, but it certainly would concern those of us who may see some reprioritisation of aid if development assistance is increasingly framed in terms of the geopolitical contest, then we may not be making the right decisions in terms of the kinds of development programmes rolled out.
SALLY ROUND: So what your saying is - more in Australia's interests than in the interests of those countries?
AP: Well there's no doubt that high-speed internet is in the interests of both PNG and the Solomons but the sub-text of both budgets is very much Chinese engagement in the region and concern and strategic anxiety about Chinese influence.
SR: The Australians have also announced an Australian Pacific Security College. What do you know about that?
AP: Well, this again is very much part of Australia's increasing push in the region. It has signed a series of bilateral security agreements with a number of Pacific countries including Tuvalu where they've also announced they're going to open a new high commission. And this Australian Pacific Security College is part of that and it's about providing training in security and law enforcement at the leadership level. It's still in its infancy. There's questions around where it will be located, whether it will be a virtual college to begin with while they look for somewhere to locate, to situate the college itself, but again it reflects those concerns that Australia has about a loss of influence in the region and the need to really spearhead and be the Pacific primary security partner.
SR: And what sort of issues do you think it would be dealing with?
AP: Certainly around ... the college would be concerned with law enforcement, again targeting at leadership level, law enforcement, security issues, intelligence. That will be the primary focus from what I understand for the college.