<![CDATA[The South Pacific has experienced a tectonic shift in the 21st-century international security landscape, transforming from a historically tranquil maritime sanctuary into a primary epicenter of geostrategic friction between the United States, its traditional allies, and a rising People's Republic of China (PRC). This article provides a critical narrative analysis of regional security dynamics by synthesizing the Copenhagen School's Securitization Theory with the concept of Asymmetric Agency among developing small island states. The core analytical inquiry focuses on the fundamental dissonance between the conventional military securitization pursued by external great powers and the non-traditional existential security imperatives of Pacific Island Countries (PICs), who formally declared climate change as their principal security threat under the 2018 Boe Declaration. Employing a qualitative-exploratory research design grounded in policy discourse analysis and systematic desk research, this study argues that Pacific island states are actively rejecting their reductionist portrayal as passive pawns in a renewed Cold War rivalry. Instead, through the collective framing of the "Blue Pacific" continent and the foreign policy doctrine of "Friends to all, enemies to none," regional leaders exercise calculated strategic hedging. This mechanism allows them to leverage Sino-American competition to secure developmental infrastructure and climate adaptation financing, while resolutely resisting the militarized polarization that threatens regional strategic autonomy and enduring peace.]]>
Copyrights © 2025
