Avoiding a “lost decade” in the Pacific

Summary

The Pacific is dependent on international tourism which has been reduced to almost nothing by Covid-19. Money needs to be pumped into Pacific economies. Still, hardly any of the region's nations can pump money into their own economies. Further, many of them already have significant debts to China. Australia is one of the largest donors to the region and has committed $300 million as part of a Covid-19 response package. This article argues that Australia should provide a A$2 billion recovery financing facility. Over the next few years, another A$5billion post-pandemic recovery package should also be provided to be spent on infrastructure and household support. Without this aid, the region could take ten years to recover to pre-COVID levels. Fragile pacific states might seek assistance from countries whose interests are not aligned with that of Australia. Therefore, consider whether providing aid to the pacific region is in Australia's interests.

References

• Indo-Pacific Island States Face Increasing Maritime Security Threatsv
• Pacific island nations beat coronavirus, but now face economic devastation: report
• Remote Pacific islands escaped the coronavirus this year. It devastated their economies anyway.V
• Tourism-dependent economies are among those harmed the most by the pandemic