The earthquake struck near Vanuatu’s coast in the South Pacific Ocean on December 17 causing major destruction and loss of lives. File
| Photo Credit: AP

India on Thursday (January 2, 2025) announced an assistance of $500,000 to the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to help it deal with destruction caused by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake last month.

New Delhi conveyed to Vanuatu its readiness to extend all possible support to people of the country in this time of “difficulty”.

The earthquake struck near Vanuatu’s coast in the South Pacific Ocean on December 17 causing major destruction and loss of lives.

“As a close friend and partner under the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation and as a gesture of solidarity with the friendly people of Vanuatu, the government of India extends a relief assistance of $500,000 to support relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It said India has firmly stood by Vanuatu during times of difficulty and devastation caused by natural disasters.

“An important pillar of India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2019, is disaster risk reduction and management,” the MEA said.

India is committed to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and continues to be a responsible and steadfast responder in the region, it said.

“India extended its deep condolences to the Government and the people of Vanuatu for the damage and destruction caused by this unprecedented disaster and conveyed its readiness to extend all possible support and assistance in this time of difficulty,” the MEA said.

This handout picture released by the Vanuatu Ministry of the Prime Minister on July 2, 2024, shows Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai (R) receiving a key from Hu Chunhua, Vice-chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, during an official handover ceremony of the new presidential palace to the government of Vanuatu. China’s embassy said the project had gifted Vanuatu “another landmark building”, while symbolising a new “milestone” in their increasingly warm relationship.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The government of cash-strapped Vanuatu will soon settle into a suite of new buildings funded by China, a move likely to reignite concerns about Beijing’s reach in the South Pacific nation.

At an official handover ceremony conducted in front of a towering China Aid billboard, Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai announced the opening of the nation’s sweeping new presidential palace.

The project also included the construction of a new finance ministry and renovations to Vanuatu’s foreign affairs department, China’s embassy said in a statement released Tuesday.

Australia’s Lowy Institute think tank estimated China had spent upwards of $21 million on construction, a significant sum for an aid project in the developing nation of less than 300,000 people.

China’s embassy said the project had gifted Vanuatu “another landmark building”, while symbolising a new “milestone” in their increasingly warm relationship.

A Chinese delegation handed Salwai an oversized novelty golden key — also emblazoned with “China Aid” — kicking off a festive opening ceremony replete with Chinese dragon dancers and the brewing of the ceremonial kava drink.

Local media reported that hundreds of public servants would work, rent free, inside the new buildings.

China is “committed to developing friendly cooperation with Pacific island countries”, including Vanuatu, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

Vanuatu is heavily indebted to China: about 40 percent of its external debt is owed to China’s Exim bank, according to the Lowy Institute.

China has funded a swathe of major infrastructure upgrades across the archipelago, part of an intensifying scramble for influence pitting Beijing against Western rivals.

Beijing’s ambassador to Vanuatu, Li Minggang, has said that China is ready and willing to “step up pragmatic cooperation in this field”.

But there are fears that Vanuatu and other Pacific states such as Tonga and Solomon Islands are increasingly vulnerable to what critics have described as China’s “debt-trap diplomacy”.