SYDNEY – China’s embassy in Fiji denied on July 3 that Beijing wanted a military base or sphere of influence in the Pacific Islands, after Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said islands were trying to cope with a powerful China seeking to spread its influence.
“The claims about China setting up a military base in the Pacific are false narratives,” an embassy spokesman said in a statement.
“China’s presence in the Pacific is focused on building roads and bridges to improve people’s livelihoods, not on stationing troops or setting up military bases,” he said.
Mr Rabuka said on July 2 his country has development cooperation with China, but is
opposed to Beijing establishing a military base
in the region. In any case, China did not need a base to project power in the region, he added.
China tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in September that flew over Fiji to land 11,000km from China in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean.
“If they can very well target an empty space, they can very well target occupied space,” Mr Rabuka told the National Press Club in Canberra.
Washington became concerned about China’s ambition to gain a military foothold in the Pacific Islands in 2018, when Beijing sought to
redevelop a naval base
in Papua New Guinea and a military base in Fiji.
China was outbid by Australia for both projects.
The concern resurfaced in 2022 when China
signed a security pact
with Solomon Islands, prompting Washington to warn it would respond if Beijing established a permanent military presence.
In November, the outgoing US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell urged the Trump administration to keep its focus on the region because China wanted to build bases in the Pacific Islands.
The Chinese embassy spokesman said Fiji and China respect each other’s sovereignty.
“China has no interest in geopolitical competition or seeking the so-called sphere of influence,” the statement added.
China has established a police presence in Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu. REUTERS
