Soviet Union–Tonga relations

Tonga and the Soviet Union established formal diplomatic relations in April 1976.[1] Tonga was the first Pacific Island country to establish relations with the USSR.

Soviet Union-Tonga relations
Map indicating locations of Soviet Union and Tonga

Soviet Union
Tonga

Overview

Tongan-Soviet relations may be viewed in the context of the two countries' interests. In the mid-1970s, the entirety of Oceania was firmly aligned with the Western Bloc in the context of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union, despite its eastern coast being on the Pacific Ocean, was excluded from participation in regional matters. Tonga, meanwhile, had recently regained full sovereignty after being a protectorate of the United Kingdom and was establishing its own foreign policy. Aligning itself with the West, Tonga sought development aid from its Western partners.

In May 1976, the Soviet Union offered aid to Tonga to build an international airport and develop the fishing and canning industry in exchange for basing rights for its fishing vessels.[2][3] Tonga's move to establish relations with the USSR caused alarm in New Zealand,[4][5] the United Kingdom,[6] and West Germany[7] and resulted in several offers of aid from western countries,[8][9] including West Germany.[10]

The Australian government thereupon announced that it would finance an upgrade of Tonga's international airport and, in 1977, increased its overall economic aid to Tonga (from A$406,000 to over A$1,000,000), before opening a High Commission in Nukuʻalofa in 1980.

In 1987, Tonga "played the Soviet card" again (in the words of E. Huffer), when the then crown prince Sia'osi Taufa'ahau Manumata'ogo Tuku'aho Tupou paid a state visit to the Soviet Union,[11] and declared while in Moscow that "Tonga and the Soviet Union are linked, not separated, by the Pacific Ocean", adding that "the USSR [is] a Pacific nation with legitimate interests in the region".

Relations between Moscow and Nukuʻalofa remained pragmatic rather than ideological. Tonga was, at the time, a quasi-absolute monarchy, with no ideological sympathy for communism.[3]

See also

References
  1. "No decision on Soviet base for Tonga". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 14 June 1976. p. 7. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Soviet Union offers aid to Tonga". The Press. 12 May 1976. p. 5. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Papers Past.
  3. "Roubles for Tonga from Russia with love". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 47, no. 8. 1 August 1976. p. 14-15. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Russians will move in — P.M." The Press. 18 May 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Papers Past.
  5. "NZ 'perturbed' by Soviet presence". The Canberra Times. 15 June 1976. p. 6. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Soviet feelers cause alarm in London". The Press. 14 June 1976. p. 2. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Papers Past.
  7. "Bonn alarmed by Russians' paddle in South Pacific". The Press. 27 September 1976. p. 8. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Papers Past.
  8. "Soviet foothold in Tonga unlikely". The Press. 15 October 1976. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Papers Past.
  9. "Tonga looms as power hinge WOOED BY MAJOR POWERS WITH OFFERS OF AID". The Canberra Times. 4 March 1977. p. 8. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Bonn aid to Tonga". Press. 4 December 1976. p. 19. Retrieved 17 December 2022 – via Papers Past.
  11. "Tonga's Cultured Crown Prince". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 59, no. 11. 1 November 1988. p. 49. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  • HUFFER, Elise, Grands hommes et petites îles: La politique extérieure de Fidji, de Tonga et du Vanuatu, Paris: Orstom, 1993, ISBN 2-7099-1125-6, pp. 272–282
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