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Solomon Island rebel leader Harold Keke surrendered to Australian forces Aug. 13 after days of negotiations, marking a successful end to the first phase of the Australian-led multinational intervention in the Pacific island nation. The initial success will inspire Canberra to press ahead with its new foreign policy initiatives in the Pacific, taking a more proactive stance in regional security, politics and economics.
But despite regional cooperation and support for the Solomons intervention, Canberra likely will begin meeting resistance from other Pacific island nations. At the Pacific Islands Forum, currently under way in Auckland, New Zealand, smaller nations are spearheading a lobbying effort to block Australian-backed Greg Urwin, now based in Samoa, from the position of forum secretary-general.
At a time when Canberra is ready to press into the Pacific, opposition is building among nations concerned with sovereignty. They are raising the warning flag of colonialism and hegemony -- threatening political conflicts as Canberra prepares to step into its self-proclaimed role as regional mentor and leader.
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