The PALM10 meeting was held exactly two months after New Caledonia, an island nation strategically located close to Australia and a French overseas territory, was hit by riots,threatening to destabilise the region. What triggered the riots and deadly violence in New Caledonia was that lawmakers in Paris approved a constitutional amendment to allow recent arrivals to the territory to vote in provincial elections.

Though the island territory is no stranger to violence, the unrest was alarming and the riots were the worst in four decades. French President Emmanuel Macron flew to New Caledonia in a bid to calm tensions. Why is the island of New Caledonia important and why are Japan and other stakeholders keen to maintain the existing equilibrium in the South Pacific, even as they are worried about the developments in the island nation? The protests over France’s voting reforms were the latest flashpoint in a decadeslong tussle over France’s role in the island. New Caledonia is located in the waters of the southwest Pacific, about 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia.

Of the total population of 270,000, 41 per cent are Melanesian Kanaka and 24 per cent are of European origin, mostly French. The archipelago was given its name by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1774. It was annexed by France in 1853 and was used as a penal colony until shortly before the turn of the 20th century. France has realised the strategic significance of the island nation after understanding China’s design. It is one of the five island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific held by France and has emerged as central to Macron’s plan to maintain a firm French foothold in the Pacific. There is an economic dimension to New Caledonia’s strategic importance as well.

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