Studies On Australia's Aid In The Pacific Island Countries

Since the Second World War,foreign aid has become an important part of Australia's neighboring diplomacy.After years of development,Australia has become the largest aid donor in the island regions of the Pacific Ocean.Reasons for Australia's assistance to the Pacific countries are as follows: First,geostrategic considerations are the root cause.Second,the predicament in the development of the Pacific island countries after their national independence is not conducive to the overall stability of Oceania.Third,the need to shape the country's image,to promote its trade and economy and to stabilize the surrounding environment are the motivation behind Australia's emphasis on peripheral diplomacy.Finally,Pacific island countries' heavy reliance on aid and especially extra-territorial powers' continuing assistance to the island nations since the beginning of the new century have prompted Australia to further use aid diplomacy to maintain its leadership in the island areas.In the process of assisting the Pacific island countries,Australia has gradually formed a mature aid system.First,based on the purpose of serving the interests of its own country and helping other poor countries,Australia has set the strategic goals of serving the national interest such as politics,security and humanitarian as well as the goals of assisting the Pacific island countries in such areas as stability,poverty reduction and economic growth.Second,Australia has established a set of mechanisms to effectively carry out the above objectives: to determine the principle of assistance to the Pacific island countries through the publication of the Port Moresby Declaration and the Cairns Compact on Strengthening Development Coordination in the Pacific;to regulate the decision-making process and the parties involved with the use of official rules,standards and laws and regulations;to ensure the smooth,effective and better implementation of aid through the Australian Agency for International Development,Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,The Office of Development Efficiency,Australia-Pacific Technical College and innovation exchange.Third,to formulate appropriate aid policies and approaches with considerations to the objectives of the aid strategy.Among them,political stability,social development,economic prosperity and environmental protection have become the important contents of Australia's assistance to the Pacific island countries.Project assistance,technical assistance and aid for trade are the main forms of aid.Finally,Pacific region assessment reports are regularly issued by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to evaluate the effectiveness of aid.With an assessment of Australia's assistance to Pacific island countries from the perspectives of donor countries,recipient countries and third parties,it can be found that while most of the strategic goals have been achieved in Australia,there is still room for improvement in terms of aid philosophy and aid methods.First,as the donor country,Australia has achieved significant political and diplomatic gains through sustained investment in such areas as “effective governance” and “infrastructure,trade and private sector development” and with the leading aid advantages in the island region of the Pacific Ocean.However,Australia has not been able to make effective progress in promoting the national image.Second,from the perspective of recipient countries,Australia's assistance in reducing poverty through education and health projects in Pacific island nations has been endorsed and appreciated among the leaders of island nations.However,despite the successful completion of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands,which has brought stability to the island,the operation has provoked controversy over interference in the internal affairs of the island nation.In addition,significant progress has been made in the PACER Plus,but it is unclear whether the economic growth of the island nations will be promoted as expected.Finally,from the perspective of the third parties represented by the OECD and the Reality of Aid Network(RoA),the OECD/DAC,with a recognition of Australia's aid performance,has concluded that a sound aid management system is Australia's advantage and recommended that Australia should increase the share of aid using partner systems.The RoA continues to focus on the ruling party's impact on Australia's aid philosophy by combing the evolution of its aid policies and pointing out that under the leadership of the Liberals,Australia is considering more national interests in foreign aid.RoA also calls on Australia to pay more attention to reducing poverty in Pacific island countries.To summarize Australia's assistance to Pacific island countries,among the 14 Pacific island countries,Papua New Guinea,Solomon Islands,Vanuatu and Fiji located in the Melanesian archipelago are the most important recipient countries from Australia in terms of the aid features.Effective governance,education and health are Australia's key areas of assistance to Pacific island countries.From experience and lessons,selfcontained aid management system is Australia's effective experience in assisting the Pacific island countries,but Australia's “boomerang aid” in the region has been widely criticized by Pacific island countries.To reflect on Australia's aid to the Pacific island countries,Australia needs to find a balance between helping the Pacific island nations to reduce poverty and seeking national interests.At the same time,it is also necessary to avoid the impact of government changes on the continuity of aid policies.