On February 26, the US warned Pacific island nations about receiving support from Chinese security forces.
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| Part of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati seen from above. (Source: Reuters) |
The US move comes after Kiribati's acting police commissioner Eeri Ariteira said last week that uniformed Chinese officers were working with the island nation's police on community policing and a criminal database program, Reuters reported.
Kiribati requested the assistance of Chinese police forces in 2022, but Beijing does not have any police stations operating in the Pacific island nation, according to Mr. Ariteira.
A source from the Chinese Embassy confirmed that uniformed officers were working in Kiribati but asserted that Beijing had not set up a police station there.
Asked to comment on the Reuters report, a US State Department spokesperson said: “We do not believe importing security forces from China will help any Pacific island nation. Instead, doing so risks raising regional and international tensions.”
US officials also expressed "concerns about the potential impacts" that security agreements and security-related cyber cooperation with China could have on Pacific island nations.
Beijing has not yet responded to Washington's comments.
Kiribati is a nation of 115,000 people, with an important strategic location, not only because of its relative proximity to Hawaii but also because it has one of the largest exclusive economic zones in the world, covering more than 3.5 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean.
Japan has opened a satellite tracking station on Kiribati while China has announced plans to rebuild a World War II-era US military airstrip on the island nation's Kanton Island.
Washington objected to Beijing's plans and in October 2023 pledged to upgrade the port on Kanton Island, and said it wanted to open an embassy in Kiribati.
The moves come as China seeks to expand security cooperation in Pacific island nations amid intensifying competition with the United States.
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