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Kiribati's pro-China government faces election test in Pacific
August 12, 2024
Article Body TextTarawa, Kiribati — <p>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.</p> <p>The vote on Wednesday in tiny Kiribati - a country of scattered atolls and islands - has the potential to stir ripples across the South Pacific.</p> <p>Kiribati has drawn closer to China under longtime President Taneti Maamau, who is looking to extend his almost 10-year stint in charge.</p> <p>Beijing has been sending small teams of police to train Kiribati's stretched forces in the lead-up to the election, a development that has raised eyebrows among Pacific watchers.</p> <p>"What China is doing is normalizing its presence in the region," said Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Blake Johnson.</p> <p>"We haven't seen any kind of agreement that shows what they are doing there or how many there are," he told AFP.</p> <p>"So it's all a mystery."</p> <p>In the past five years, Kiribati's Pacific neighbors, Solomon Islands and Nauru, have also switched diplomatic recognition to China.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>With waves already encroaching on Kiribati's outer atolls, its capital Tarawa has become one of the world's most packed places.</p> <p>Coastal erosion and the search for higher ground means Tarawa today has a population density comparable to Tokyo or Hong Kong.</p> <p>Residents are plagued by contagious diseases and other symptoms of overcrowding.</p> <p><strong>Judicial meddling</strong></p> <p>Under President Maamau, a former public servant, Kiribati severed diplomatic links with Taiwan in 2019 in favor of Beijing.</p> <p>A memorandum of understanding followed in 2020, with Chinese President Xi Jinping praising Kiribati for being "on the right side of history."</p> <p>Maamau's government has also been accused of meddling in the judiciary.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Officials accused Lambourne of misconduct, charges that his supporters maintain were trumped up as a political ploy.</p> <p>Kiribati is home to around 120,000 people spread across about 20 inhabited islands and atolls.</p> <p>The general election has up to two rounds of voting, and the process can stretch on for months.</p> <p>Citizens separately elect a president from a pool of lawmakers put forward by parliament.</p>
Content TypeText
LanguageEnglish
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateAugust 12, 2024 06:10 EDT
BylineAgence France-Presse
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
