Australia’s generosity in responding to the immediate COVID-19 crisis in the Pacific has been welcomed by the region. This should not obscure how the behaviour of Australia and other regional partners has contributed to the developmental and security challenges facing the region.

Geographic isolation and border controls have meant that the Pacific has avoided many of the direct consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pacific states were amongst the first to close businesses and impose travel restrictions, social distancing measures, mask-wearing, and quarantine. While governance mechanisms have generated some challenges, the spread of COVID-19 has been limited, with Pacific states among the few globally to have either avoided or eliminated the virus.

However, the indirect consequences of COVID-19 have been devastating. The pandemic has exacerbated existing and interrelated developmental and security challenges such as urbanisation, food insecurity, and domestic violence, in addition to the risk of inflaming existing tensions at mine sites in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In their attempts to combat negative economic impacts, some states have moved too quickly to re-open their economies to tourism, with serious health consequences.

Read the full article on the Australian Institute of International Affairs website, co-authored by PhD Scholar Henriettta McNeill