Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said on Wednesday that he is opposed to gaining a permanent military foothold in the South Pacific region.
“If they want to come, who would welcome them? Not Fiji,” Rabuka told reporters during an address at Australia’s National Press Club.
“And I think that China understands that well.”
‘We don’t want rivalries to be played out in the Pacific’
China has for years exerted influence across the Pacific but Rabuka said the South Pacific should be an “ocean of peace” without jostling nations interfering.
“We do not want superpower rivalries or big power rivalries to be played out in the Pacific,” Rabuka said.
“China’s participation in our development should not affect how we interact with Australia, and America.”
“Pacific leaders in all their recent discussions have tried to go for policies that are friendly to all and enemies to none — and it is a fairly tough course to steer, but it is possible,” he added.
China’s investment
Beijing has spent hundreds of millions of dollars constructing sports stadiums, government offices, hospitals and roads in Pacific countries such as Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The charm offensive has already borne fruit with , and severing longstanding diplomatic links with in favor of China.
China views , which is governed independently, as a breakaway province.
The Solomon Islands is seen as a particularly close ally of Beijing. The nation agreed to a security pact with China in 2022, sparking concerns China may one day seek to use the archipelago as a military base.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
The post Fiji PM says China military presence not welcome in Pacific appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
