U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns about the Pacific island nation of Kirabas using Chinese police to maintain security, as the U.S. State Department warned that such cooperation could create new risks for the country. KiribatiHawaii’s neighbor.
Kiribati acting police chief Eeri Aritiera told Reuters on Friday that Chinese police delegations would rotate through the island nation “to provide assistance” to Kiribati’s community policing projects and information technology units.
Aritiera said the island nation of more than 115,000 people, whose nearest island is about 2,100 kilometers (1,305 miles) from Hawaii, had requested police assistance from China in 2022.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email to VOA that the United States conducts police training in Kiribati. The spokesman also expressed concern about the potential impact that “security agreements and security-related cyber cooperation” with China could have on the country’s sovereignty.
“We do not believe that importing security forces from China [China] Will help any country,” he said in an email to VOA.
Worry about losing ground
U.S. lawmakers worry Washington is losing ground to the People’s Republic of China in the Pacific, a region critical to national security.
“The People’s Republic of China’s policing activities in Kiribati are a clear demonstration of Beijing’s growing influence through law in the Pacific island nation. It is also a sign of the democratically corrosive impact of the People’s Republic of China’s diplomatic isolation of Taiwan,” said Ranking Member, U.S. Rep. said MP Raja Krishnamoorthi. Member, House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Communist Party of China.
“If we do not engage more with Pacific partners like Kiribati to counter China’s malign influence, we could face serious trade and national security issues,” said Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., He is also a member of the Special Committee.
Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, acknowledged in an email to VOA that “Kiribati wants a consistent on-the-ground relationship with the United States,” adding that the region “needs help building capacity to address basic services.”
Other members of the committee worried that this would have a corrosive effect on Pacific countries, which rely more on police in authoritarian countries for their security, where due process is often not enforced.
U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel said in a statement to VOA, “The Chinese Communist Party has zero value for human life and will certainly exploit Kiribati’s strategic position for its own benefit.” Steele also said Member of the Special Committee.
Voice of America asked the Chinese Embassy in the United States to comment on reports that China has deployed additional police in Kiribati.
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu responded in an email to VOA that China “always cooperates with relevant countries on the basis of equality, mutual respect, mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness.”
China strengthens police cooperation
In recent years, Beijing has increasingly positioned itself as the preferred public security partner for Pacific countries experiencing instability. In January, Papua New Guinea asked Chinese police for assistance after riots that left 15 people dead.
In 2022, the Solomon Islands signed a security agreement with Beijing, and a year later, Prime Minister Sogavare signed a two-year police cooperation agreement with China. Kiribati and the Solomon Islands both severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019 and established diplomatic relations with Beijing instead.
But other countries in the region are re-examining police agreements with China. In January 2023, after 12 years of cooperating with Beijing on policing, Fiji’s newly elected Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka fired the country’s police chief and pledged to end a deal that allowed Chinese police to be stationed in Fiji. Police training protocol.
“If our systems and values are different, what cooperation can we get from them?” Rabuka said of China last June.
Lawmakers: Funding delays send wrong message
As Chinese money pours into the region — as much as $3.148 billion between 2008 and 2020, according to Sydney’s Lowy Institute — many in Congress are questioning why their fellow MPs still haven’t passed A funding package for three Pacific allies. It also faces economic pressure from Beijing.
The agreement, known as the Compact of Free Association (COFA), provides $7 billion in economic assistance to Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands over 20 years. This was signed last year.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate’s Security Supplement funding was canceled amid pressure from conservatives who wanted to reduce costs. Funds cannot be re-added as there is no allowed modification procedure.
United States Representative Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen represents the United States Pacific territory of American Samoa — located approximately 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) southeast of Kiribati.
In a statement to VOA, she called COFA “the clearest signal the United States can send reaffirming its commitment to freedom, democracy, and well-being across our three closest allies and throughout the Pacific.”
U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii agreed, warning in an email to VOA that further delays in passing COFA “open the door for China to make similar overtures to COFA countries” “.
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