After nuclear missiles fall into the Pacific, Beijing finds that "small country diplomacy" also costs

Beijing has done a lot of work in the Pacific island countries over the past decade.

It rebuilt roads, built government buildings, provided loans, sent out diplomats, signed security agreements, and prompted more and more island nations to break deals with Taiwan.

The CPC’s strategic judgment about the region is not complicated: the Pacific islands are small, but have huge exclusive economic zones, have voting rights in the United Nations, and are located in an important strategic space outside the United States, Japan, Australia and Taiwan.

Therefore, economic aid has never been merely economic.

In July, China launched another intercontinental ballistic missile in the Pacific Ocean capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

On August 11, Reuters revealed that the test was creating a new political crack between the Pacific island nations. Some island leaders publicly expressed concern, while regional foreign ministers failed to reach an agreement when they tried to form a joint statement; and countries such as Kiribati and Nauru, which are closer to Beijing, differed from unified criticism of China.

The most valuable thing to observe is not a missile.

But what role has China played in the past few years when it comes to regional security?

In recent years, the Pacific island countries have pushed the concept of "Ocean of Peace"

• "Ocean of Peace", hoping to avoid strategic competition between the United States and China to re-militarize the region.

China expands naval activities and long-range missile capabilities, the United States, Australia and its allies strengthen military cooperation, and Australia and Fiji sign a new defence treaty.The leaders of the island countries talk about climate change, development and maritime security, but more and more are military tools of strategic competition between the great powers.

Beijing likes to interpret its military expansion as defense, and the military presence of the United States and its allies as hegemony.

The problem is that the Pacific islands do not live in the language system of the Chinese propaganda sector.

An intercontinental missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads into the Pacific Ocean will not lose its military significance because the launcher claims to be a “defensive defense policy.”

Even more remarkable is the fact that China’s economic influence is creating a dangerous temptation: that as long as an island country accepts Chinese investment, joins the Belt and Road Initiative, or breaks deals with Taiwan, it will support Beijing on all strategic issues.

National interests have never been so simple.

Accepting Chinese funding doesn’t mean willingness to live under the shadow of China’s nuclear weapons and naval expansion; likewise, accepting Australian security cooperation doesn’t mean willingness to be the U.S. military front to contain China.

True respect for the sovereignty of the Pacific island nations should allow them to decide their own security order, rather than ask them to choose between Beijing and Washington.

Chinese diplomacy in Xi Jinping's time has always emphasized the "community of human destiny".

But international politics ultimately sees action.

When a country talks to small countries on joint development, while continuously demonstrating nuclear strike capabilities that can spread across the entire Pacific, it produces two Chinese images at the same time.

One is an investor.

The other is military power.

Beijing can buy rights to use ports, build government buildings, and gain diplomatic recognition.

It cannot buy the security of its neighbors in the face of nuclear missiles.