Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

established formal diplomatic relations in April 1976. Tonga was the first

Pacific Island The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

country to establish relations with the USSR.

Overview

Tongan-Soviet relations may be viewed in the context of the two countries' interests. In the mid-1970s, the entirety of

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

was firmly aligned with the

Western Bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Capitalist Bloc, the Freedom Bloc, the Free Bloc, and the American Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War (1947–1991). While ...

in the context of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, and the Soviet Union, despite its eastern coast being on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, was excluded from participation in regional matters. Tonga, meanwhile, had recently regained full sovereignty after being a protectorate of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and was establishing its own

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

. 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. Tonga's move to establish relations with the USSR caused alarm in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and West Germany and resulted in several offers of aid from western countries, including West Germany. 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 Nukualofa ( , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British ...

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, and declared while in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

that "Tonga and the Soviet Union are linked, not separated, by the Pacific Ocean", adding that "the USSR sa 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 Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

References

* HUFFER, Elise, ''Grands hommes et petites îles: La politique extérieure de Fidji, de Tonga et du Vanuatu'', Paris: Orstom, 1993, , pp. 272–282 {{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet Union-Tonga relations Bilateral relations of Tonga

Russia–Tonga relations

Overview

See also

References