The Director of Fiji's Centre for International and Regional Affairs, Richard Herr, says the impasse over Fiji's membership of the Pacific Islands Forum can't be solved by New Zealand and Australia alone.
Dr Herr says Fiji's Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, has thrown down the gauntlet by saying he will not attend the September gathering of the region's lead political grouping unless Australia and New Zealand leave the organisation.
Frank Bainimarama on the eve of his landslide victory in the 2014 elections, the first since his 2006 coup Photo: RNZI/Sally Round
Suva says other development partners like China should be members if New Zealand and Australia insist on staying.
Dr Herr says efforts by Australia to soothe the way with Fiji on the issue have broken down and it needs a multilateral approach and input from China.
"Insofar as it is part of one of the scenarios that Fiji envisages for solving this problem, one really would like to know whether China wants to be involved in this regional bunfight. Is it willing to take sides?"