Pacific and Pacific Rim countries are increasingly taking sides, or under pressure to take sides, in the growing confrontation between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China and are being urged to spend an increasing proportion of their public income on militarisation, to the detriment of addressing urgent social needs. A war between the USA and its allies against the People’s Republic of China and its allies would be disastrous for the people of the Pacific and Pacific Rim countries. Our survival depends upon preventing nuclear war and preserving our cultures and environments from irreversible destruction.
We, the Peoples of the Pacific and Pacific Rim countries, urgently call on each of our governments to adopt a neutral position, committing to reduce the likelihood and the scale of a U.S.-China war. Our governments should reaffirm existing maritime neutrality laws, implement country-specific neutrality policies, and refuse to participate in military escalation on any side.
For Sustainable Peace and the Survival of our Peoples and Environment, we ask you:
This campaign was initiated by the Pacific Peace Network (PPN), a meeting which facilitates solidarity and collaboration between people across the Pacific who are working to create a peaceful, sustainable, and thriving Pacific region free of militarism. Click here to see PPN’s statement from 2021: Pacific Peoples Declaration for Peace
Our current campaign builds on the achievements of the Peace and Neutrality Conference held in Bogotá in 2024. The conference pointed the way for a more peaceful world by calling for countries to proclaim their neutrality and keep out of war. Learn more about the Peace and Neutrality Conference in Bogotá at https://worldbeyondwar.org/neutrality/.
Neutrality is not just a foreign policy, but also an important and useful part of international law. Here are the most important facts about the Law of Neutrality and how it can help if combined wisely with a sovereign foreign policy: https://neutralitystudies.com/2025/04/a-little-neutrality-faq/
Beyond neutrality, PPN members also embrace the concept of Common Security – the concept that nations and populations can only feel safe when their counterparts feel safe. Unlike militarism which builds upon fear of the Other, Common Security prioritizes human security, the freedom from fear and freedom from want. You can learn more at https://ipb.org/common-security/ and https://commonsecurity.org/common-security-2022-report/
We hope to move forward in the tradition of past actions for neutrality and common security, such as nuclear-free zones (Kobe Port, Japan in 1975, the South Pacific members of the Treaty of Rarotonga in 1986, Mongolia in 1992, and the TPNW states parties in 2021), networks such as Mayors for Peace, and campaigns such as the proposal for Jeju Island, South Korea to be a demilitarized “Island of World Peace.”
The Pacific Peace Network actively campaigns for the end to all military exercises in the Pacific, including Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) and Talisman Sabre war games.
Learn more about past actions of the Pacific Peace Network:
Rather than a stage for sabre rattling, the Pacific should be a zone of peace.
