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Agence France-Presse

Reuters

Pacific nation Kiribati will begin voting in a general election this week, a poll that will test the strengthening ties between China and the government of the climate-threatened archipelago.
The vote on Wednesday in tiny Kiribati – a country of scattered atolls and islands – has the potential to stir ripples across the South Pacific.
Kiribati is considered strategic despite being small, because it is relatively close to the US state of Hawaii and controls more than 3.5 million sq km (1.4 million sq miles) of Pacific Ocean.
Kiribati has drawn closer to China under long-time President Taneti Maamau, who is looking to extend his almost 10-year stint in charge.
In February, Reuters reported that Chinese police had begun working in Kiribati, a sensitive issue for neighbour the United States, which signed a 1983 treaty providing for consultation before Kiribati allows third-party military use of its islands.
China’s police force donated riot control gear last month, pledging to “solidify collaboration in law enforcement and policing”, the Kiribati police said in a statement on Facebook.

“What China is doing is normalising its presence in the region,” said Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Blake Johnson.
“We haven’t seen any kind of agreement that shows what they are doing there or how many there are,” he said.
“So it’s all a mystery.”
Meanwhile, a US request to establish an embassy has stalled.
In the past five years, Kiribati’s Pacific neighbours, Solomon Islands and Nauru, have also switched diplomatic recognition to China.
The low-lying nation meanwhile faces a raft of economic and environmental challenges, such as the rising sea levels that now regularly taint scarce drinking water supplies.
With waves already encroaching on Kiribati’s outer atolls, its capital Tarawa has become one of the world’s most packed places.
Coastal erosion and the search for higher ground means Tarawa today has a population density comparable to Tokyo or Hong Kong.
Residents are plagued by contagious diseases and other symptoms of overcrowding.
Under President Maamau, a former public servant, Kiribati severed diplomatic links with Taiwan in 2019 in favour of Beijing.
A memorandum of understanding followed in 2020, with Chinese President Xi Jinping praising Kiribati for being “on the right side of history”.
Maamau’s government has also been accused of meddling in the judiciary.

Australian-born high court judge David Lambourne – who is married to Kiribati’s main opposition leader – was forced to leave the country in May after running afoul of the government.
Officials accused Lambourne of misconduct, charges that his supporters maintain were trumped-up as a political ploy.
Kiribati is home to around 120,000 people spread across around 20 inhabited islands and atolls.
Voting is not compulsory in Kiribati, and Wednesday’s ballot is the first of two rounds of voting for members of parliament, to be followed by the vote for president, from a pool of lawmakers put forward by parliament.
The general election process can stretch on for months.
Under past governments, Kiribati had been a prominent campaigner on the global stage for climate change issues, he said.
Maamau’s government has backed deep sea mining, an issue that put it at odds with environmental groups.


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Pacific nations

Pacific nation Kiribati’s pro-China government faces election test

The remote Pacific Island nation of Kiribati holds a national election on Wednesday, at which major issues for voters are the government’s close ties to China and a softer stance on global climate advocacy. Photo: Shutterstock

 Kiribati will begin voting in a general election this week, a poll that will test the strengthening ties between China and the government of the climate-threatened archipelago. Photo: Reuters

Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk together during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on January 6, 2020. Photo: AP

As China’s sway over Pacific islands grows, will Japan counter by coming to Palau’s aid?

Chinese research ships have repeatedly been sighted operating in marine zones claimed by Palau. Photo: Shutterstock

Former Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen welcomes Palau’s then-President Surangel Whipps at a ceremony in Taipei in October 2022. Photo: Reuters

No political strings to China’s aid for Pacific island nations: Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with PNG counterpart Justin Tkatchenko ahead of talks in PNG capital Port Moresby on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Solomon Islands props up budget with China’s US$20 million injection

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele in Beijing on July 12. Photo: Xinhua

A member of a Chinese medical team offers health consultations to residents in Honiara, Solomon Islands, last month. Photo: Xinhua

Japan’s talks with Pacific islands focus on climate as security issues take back seat

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (bottom row, second from left) and other participants of the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting in Tokyo pose for a photo on Thursday. Photo: Kyodo

President of French Polynesia Moetai Brotherson (third from left) and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (second from right) hold a meeting during the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Villagers watch the sunset over a small lagoon near the village of Tangintebu on South Tarawa in the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati. Photo: Reuters

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in August 2023. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Solomon Islands election: China security ties in focus as tiny Pacific nation heads to the polls

An election parade in Solomon Islands’ capital Honiara on Monday. The  political climate in the Pacific nation has been fractious in recent years. Photo: AP

Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (right) and China’s Premier Li Qiang at a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last year. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Australasia

Kiribati switched ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, and is considered strategic because it is relatively close to the US state of Hawaii


The nation of roughly 120,000 residents switched ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, and is considered strategic despite being small, because it is relatively close to the US state of Hawaii.


Diplomacy

Solomon Islands

Asia elections