China muscling into the Pacific goes beyond trying to establish a strategic foothold in attempting to secure vital support for any future action against Taiwan, experts say.
Beijing has courted Pacific island nations to switch allegiances from recognising Taiwan to gain vital allies in the United Nations, where every state has a single vote, Mihai Sora said.
"It's not just about recognition of the mainland ... it's now supporting China's efforts to reunify Taiwan, dot dot dot, by all means basically," the Lowy Institute Pacific island program director told a forum on Monday.
China worked to erode the influence of traditional partners to island nations such as the US and Australia, he said.
Freedom of movement through territories was highlighted as an example as he referred to Solomon Islands recently denying an American vessel from a maritime security mission.
"The concern for Australia is, can it continue to enjoy this freedom of movement, this freedom of access through Pacific islands territories?" Mr Sora said.
China striking security pacts and working to increase influence in the region, including through policing initiatives, also created concerns for Australia, Anna Powles said.
There had been a 650 per cent increase in security activities in the Solomons between 2022 and 2023 after a security pact with China was inked, the Pacific security expert told the forum.
"What it has enabled is to build relationships within local police forces, it enables them to build relationships with communities," Dr Powles said.
She also raised allegations Chinese police had turned a blind eye to some translation criminal activities by shutting down investigations.
Chinese communities in the Solomons had also expressed concerns about Chinese police placing pressure on them, Dr Powles added.
"They have been told on occasion by the (Chinese police liaison team) that they should come to them directly, rather than the local Solomon Islands police," she said.
