The United States and Australia are nervous about Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's intense week of visits to several Pacific islands.It is not something new.China has been cultivating its diplomatic relations with the Pacific island states for decades.With some of them, like the Federated States of Micronesia, ties go back more than 30 years.Diplomatic negotiations that have intensified since some island states, such as the Solomon Islands, took a radical turn in 2019 by aligning themselves with China.The change in its foreign policy materialized last April with a security pact between the two nations.The controversial draft of the agreement, which came to light through a leak, has made the West uncomfortable with points such as the authorization for China to deploy its police units or soldiers in the paradisiacal territory.Now, with Wang Yi's tour of the Pacific, China is taking another step to consolidate its position in this territory.Although many details of the meetings have not come out, the minister has insisted on the commercial and development cooperation objective of his visits."We focus on economic development and care about improving people's living standards," he said in an article published by China's state-run Global Times newspaper.Beyond the commercial interest that China may have, both the Solomon Islands and other neighboring island states are a strategic enclave where the United States has maintained hegemony since World War II.They have also been for Australia, which until now had remained the main guarantor of stability in the area.Canberra fears that what she considered her backyard, the Pacific, will now become China's after Beijing launches numerous infrastructure projects in the island states.And while NATO meets this week in Madrid with an agenda marked almost entirely by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pacific islands, one of the hot potatoes of world geopolitics, continue to gradually fall into the Chinese sphere of influence. .That is why there are experts who think that Wang Yi's trip could hide more interests than commercial ones.The other piece that completes the puzzle to understand what is happening in Oceania is Taiwan.For decades, Beijing and Taipei have vied to establish diplomatic influence in these island states.The year 2019 was a turning point for the foreign relations of both countries as the Solomon Islands and Kiribati changed their diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China.Who to lean on, Beijing or Taipei, has become a central topic of debate in the elections and governments of the island states, the majority of which seem to seek the shelter of the shadow of the Asian giant in the face of its incipient economic expansion.Beyond the commercial agreements that China can close in the Pacific, its growing footprint in the Pacific has a direct impact on the geopolitics of the area.Their increased presence could end what are known as "island chains," a geographic security concept used to illustrate a defensive or offensive perimeter by linking islands and other larger land masses.China's advance could break that maritime encirclement of the "first island chain", made up mainly of US Asian allies and partners, and expand its control in the immediate "second island chain".MAP BREAK You are going to be hearing the phrases First Island Chain and Second Island Chain a lot so here they are 1st: Taiwan, Okinawa, Philippines 2nd: Guam pic.twitter.com/Qyuq4o3m7zThe Solomon Islands, with which China already signed an agreement last April, enjoy a privileged position for the control of air and maritime space in the area and the control of communications between the US, Australia and their allies in the Pacific.Although the president of these Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, has repeatedly insisted that the pact has nothing to do with the possible construction of a future Chinese naval base, many fear that the rules of the game will change in the future.If so, it could jeopardize the protection of the island of Taiwan against possible interference from Beijing.It should not be forgotten that China sees Taiwan, whose government is democratically elected, as a renegade province whose future lies in annexation.For years, Beijing has been signing projects in the Pacific that range from airports, stadiums, roads or schools.The contracts are part of the ambitious vision of its president, Xi Jinping, to develop the "Belt and Road Initiative" (new silk route) and to expand China's influence abroad.The financing, which translates into debt for the island states, also represents an opportunity for Chinese state-owned companies to participate in lucrative infrastructure projects.The huge sums of money that China is pumping into the Pacific can also be seen as an example of checkbook diplomacy: investments to curry diplomatic favor in countries that are carried out.China is not a pioneer in this either.As Alexandre Dayant, an Asia-Pacific expert at the Lowy Institute, points out: "It's important to remember that it's not just China using foreign aid as a tool to curry favor with countries. Australia, New Zealand and other Western states do too." , often expecting something in return.In the case of China, he worries that loans have gone from almost zero to more than $1.3 billion in just under a decade, according to an analysis published by Reuters.It is feared that Beijing could use the increasing debt of the Pacific islands to exert political pressure on them in the future or, worse still, use the infrastructure built in strategic locations to allow Chinese military access to air and sea ports. of the area.After Wang Yi's visit, both China and the island states have denied that these projects hide a plan to militarize the Pacific.This has been stated by the Vanuatu government spokesman, Fred Vurobaravu, who assures there is no project for the creation of a Chinese military base in Santo, a position that will remain "unchanged".The talks that Wang Yi has had with his counterparts have mainly focused on commercial aspects.The visit to Kiribati has resulted in the signing of 10 documents on climate change, the creation of road infrastructure or maritime transport, as well as the supply of medical equipment to combat the coronavirus.Political leaders have made it clear that their concern is not China, but climate change."We don't want to become pawns on a chessboard. We are not a prize to fight over," the Pacific Island leaders have said.China has been one of the quickest nations to assist island states in the face of climatic catastrophes such as the eruption of the volcano in Tonga or the cyclones suffered in Fiji.The frequent natural disasters that often hit remote Pacific islands make them dependent on international aid.An opportunity for both China and Australia to play their game and increase their influence in the island states.The United States and Australia are nervous about Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's intense week of visits to several Pacific islands.It is not something new.China has been cultivating its diplomatic relations with the Pacific island states for decades.With some of them, like the Federated States of Micronesia, ties go back more than 30 years.Diplomatic negotiations that have intensified since some island states, such as the Solomon Islands, took a radical turn in 2019 by aligning themselves with China.