Hillary Clinton will take the Obama administration’s diplomatic sparring with China to new territory today when the US secretary of state visits the Cook Islands (population 10,777) for a meeting of leaders from the South Pacific that once barely registered on the diplomatic map.

Swapping bulletproof limousines for beach-buggies and four-wheel drives, Mrs Clinton will become the first US secretary of state to attend the Pacific Islands Forum, which is this year being held on Rarotonga, the main island in a country made up of 15 small islands and coral atols half way between Hawaii and New Zealand.

The decision to attend the forum comes after China has significantly increased its diplomatic presence in the South Pacific in recent years, becoming one of the biggest donors and lenders to Pacific island governments. Mrs Clinton’s visit indicates the South Pacific is becoming part of the broader contest for geopolitical influence between the US and China across Asia.