France hosted the South Pacific Defense Ministers Meeting this week. As the SPDMM marks its tenth anniversary this year, its main functions have evolved from a military dialogue to include more communications in emergency response, combating climate change, etc.

What has also evolved is the presence of global powers in the South Pacific. Western powers like the United States, France, New Zealand and Australia have all been upping their games in the region. China increased its interactions with the region, too.

So how should we understand the increasing geo-strategic significance of the South Pacific? What do local people want? Host Liu Kun is joined by Joseph Siracusa, inaugural Dean of Global Futures at Curtin University; Dr. Iati Iati, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington; Josef Mahoney, Professor at East China Normal University; Chen Hong, Executive Director of Asia-Pacific Studies Center, East China Normal University.