SCMP: The tiny island with a big role in US plans for the South China Sea
* The bare-bones Lombrum Naval Base on tiny Manus Island could be a key part of efforts to push back against Chinese influence in regional waters
* But the big task ahead for Washington and Canberra is to calm nerves in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia about the base
Papua New Guinea’s now-bare-bones Lombrum Naval Base, once a major allied staging point in the Pacific War against Japan, could be the crucial jigsaw piece that America’s strategic planners have been searching for as they try to push back against China’s rising assertions in regional waters.
But as Washington and Canberra forge ahead with plans to upgrade the facility – and potentially deploy assets there in the future – strategic observers say the two stalwart allies must tread carefully to avoid tripping up another country friendly to both: Indonesia.
For now there are no signs that the upgrade has set off alarms at the highest levels of President Joko Widodo’s government, but comments this week by one mid-level official suggest there may be pockets of anxiety.
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WNU Editor: Papua New Guinea And Indonesia should be more nervous on what China is doing rather than what the U.S. and Australia are doing.
