Pro-Beijing Vanuatu PM Shelves Constitutional Changes After Boycott From Opposition

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) waves as he meets with Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman Weibur in the capital city Port Vila on June 1, 2022. Ginny Stein/AFP via Getty Images

Vanuatu’s government has shelved proposed changes to its Constitution to allow foreign nationals to hold office and extend term limits for members of Parliament.

The contentious changes come amid concerns that democratic institutions across the South Pacific are being weakened as Beijing ramps up its influence.

On June 21, Prime Minister Bob Loughman was forced to park the amendments after the opposition refused to attend Parliament to consider the changes. With only 31 out of 52 MPs present, the Parliament was short of a quorum (34 MPs).

The proposed changes included extending the terms of MPs from four to five years, introducing term limits for the chief justice, allowing dual citizens to hold public office, and expanding the definition of the “people of Vanuatu” to include naturalised citizens, which would likely include around 1,200 Chinese migrant investors.

Opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu criticised the proposal saying changes to the Constitution should be brought about via referendum to see what the public mood is, according to comments obtained by Radio New Zealand.

Beijing Influence Undermines Democratic Institutions

South Pacific expert Cleo Paskal has warned that the developments in Vanuatu mirrored those of other Pacific nations like the Solomon Islands, where democratic institutions are beginning to show signs of strain—the common thread, she says, is the emergence of authoritarianism and deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“You start to get this distortion in the society that creates an enormous amount of social anger. If you are from a democratic background, you think that’s a bad thing,” she previously told The Epoch Times. “But if you accept this premise of ‘entropic warfare’ being the desired outcome from Beijing, you actually do want to create disruption within the society.”

Vanuatu's Prime Minister Bob Loughman Weibur (C) talks to visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) during a signing ceremony of agreements between the two countries in the capital city Port Vila on June 1, 2022. Ginny Stein/AFP via Getty Images

“Then the authoritarian leadership elements get increasingly isolated from their own population and the international community, and become more reliant on Beijing.”

Some symptoms of this relationship include the increasing involvement of CCP-linked figures in decision-making, manipulation of the democratic process, and more power is granted to the central government.

The Vanuatu prime minister’s deep ties to Beijing are no secret. Loughman was one of eight Pacific leaders to be visited by the Chinese Foreign Minister during his recent trip to the South Pacific.

Further, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Kiribati recently backed a statement delivered by Cuba at the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission, calling for countries to stop scrutinising Beijing’s human rights abuses.

“Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Tibet-related issues are China’s­ ­internal affairs,” the statement claimed.