As leaders of Japan and Pacific island nations gather Friday to discuss their usual checklist for cooperation in dealing with disasters and climate change, one country is likely to be at the back of their minds: China.

Gathering for the seventh Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting in Fukushima Prefecture, Tokyo is keen to ramp up its presence in the resource-rich region, where it has been strongly involved since the late 1980s, Japanese officials said. The summit brings together Japan and the 16-member Pacific Islands Forum.

Experts familiar with Japan's ties with the island nations say that China has stepped up its presence in the region since holding its own summit with some Pacific island states in 2006, providing huge amounts of aid. Japan began holding its summit with the forum in 1997.