Transcript of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Remarks at the Launch Event for Pacific Partnership for Prosperity (PPFP) in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 9 November 2023

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan: Your Excellency Mr Mark Brown, Prime Minster of the Cook Islands and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Your Excellency Henry Puna — whom I can say now is a good and old friend that I have hosted in Singapore, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Excellencies.

I come from a very small island state called Singapore, in the heart of Southeast Asia. I am here because we are the latest Dialogue Partner to the Pacific Islands Forum. Thank you for accepting us.

You have heard the speeches tonight, heard of the Pacific Partnerships for Prosperity (PPFP) and the Blue Pacific Continent. For the sake of the Observers and Dialogue Partners, I want to give you some data to prove that these are not just wishful aspirations, but reality. I asked Prime Minister Brown, “What is the size of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cook Islands?” (The answer is) nearly two million square kilometres. After that, I asked ChatGPT, the latest AI tool, and it gave me a list of countries with large EEZs. The usual suspects are there: Russia, the US, China— the big superpowers. There is also France, with the largest EEZ in the world, but—and this is a big “but”— it is because of French presence in the Pacific. The point is, there is really a Blue Pacific Continent.

With the advent of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and our most recent agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of (marine) biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), (as well as) the fact that we have international law and hopefully will make all countries, big and small, comply, means that this is a moment of great opportunity for all of us.

I used to meet many of you because Singapore is a member of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), but I have heard that there is a new acronym in town called “BOS” – “Big Ocean States”. I am here to say that this is good news for the Pacific Islands; the bad news for Singapore is that we are still a small island. The point is: this is a moment of great opportunity. The plans which your leaders have come up with emphasise autonomy and self-determination, and secondly, community and cohesion. The third point is that I believe the Pacific Islands, just like all of us in Southeast Asia, want to be engaged on our own merits, not just because we are a maritime thoroughfare, have resources or strategic locations, but because we are fundamentally wealthy with great opportunities and a great future together.

I think the unity and cohesion of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) will put you in good stead. I can therefore echo the well wishes from the small island state of Singapore from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and say that we will make common cause with the Pacific Islands.

Thank you all for this warm welcome. Kia Orana.

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Photo Caption: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan delivering remarks at the launch event for Pacific Partnerships for Prosperity in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 9 November 2023

Photo Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore