SYDNEY/TAIPEI (AUSTRALIA/ TAIWAN) – The presidential campaign in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati involving a pro-Beijing leader and an opposition candidate sympathetic to Taiwan is the most aggressive run-off in the country’s history, said former president Anote Tong.
The June 22 election could open the door for Taiwan to reclaim the strategic ally it lost to China last year, with the opposition campaigning on a platform critical of the diplomatic switch.
Kiribati, the site of a mothballed Chinese space tracking station, has a finely balanced parliament with loyalties evenly split between President Taneti Maamau and ally-turned-rival Banuera Berina, who left the government last year, citing concerns over the diplomatic switch.
“Primarily, it has been about the Taiwan-China issue,” said Tong. “In my experience, it’s the most aggressive campaign that I’ve seen.”
Tong, who said he had been impartial since retiring from politics in 2016, oversaw a shift in Kiribati’s ties from China to Taiwan during his first term in 2003.
“There are some strong feelings against China particularly with the very active participation of the Chinese diplomatic mission during the campaign,” said Tong.
China’s embassy in Kiribati said Beijing does not interfere with the internal affairs of other countries.
China’s foreign ministry in Beijing said there had been rich results since the nations resumed diplomatic ties last year.
“China is willing to work with the Kiribati government, on the basis of the one China principle, to promote the continuous development of Sino-Kiribati ties, to help with the well-being of both countries people,” the ministry said.
The nation received more than $4.2 million from China for “livelihood projects” in the weeks leading up to the vote, said a government statement.
The offices of the candidates Maamau and Berina did not respond to requests for comment.
BEIJING BUILDS CLOUT
Many Pacific island nations, long-aligned with the United States and its allies, have been cementing ties with China in recent years in the wake of a push by Beijing to increase its diplomatic and financial clout in the region.
China claims Taiwan as its territory.
Taiwan, which shares a robust but unofficial relationship with the United States, now has only 15 formal allies left across the world.
A lawmaker said Kiribati would want to re-establish a working relationship with Taiwan if Berina wins.
“I believe Taiwan would be invited back; whether we take the next move of terminating relations with China remains to be seen,” the member said.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field