2024-02-27 21:30:22
The United States warned the Republic of Kiribati on Monday over allowing Chinese police to operate in the Pacific island nation. Due to concerns that It will create tension and may affect sovereignty. According to Reuters reporting
US attitude It comes after a Reuters report on February 23 said that uniformed police from China were involved in policing community areas. martial arts training and help with the crime database program
Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Responding to a request for comment from Reuters, it said: “We do not believe that bringing in security forces from the People’s Republic of China. In turn, doing so would help any island nation in the Pacific. It risks increasing regional and international tensions.”
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson also stated that The Washington government will not tolerate “International extortion attempts” include the establishment of police stations in other countries and concerns that the implementation of security agreements with China or security-related cyber cooperation It may affect the sovereignty of island nations in the Pacific.
Kiribati is a country of approximately 115,000 people and is located 2,160 km south of Honolulu, Hawaii. The small island nation is strategically important both for its proximity to Hawaii And as a country with one of the largest exclusive economic zones covering an area of 3.5 million sq. km.
An exclusive economic zone or EEZ refers to the area not more than 200 nautical miles from a country’s territorial sea. Based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In Kiribati, there is a Japanese satellite tracking station, and China has in the past announced that Will renovate the airstrip in the United States. It had been rebuilt during World War II. This is an issue that the United States came out to express concern
In October 2023, the United States announced that it would renovate the port in Canton Island. which is the territory of Kiribati that the United States Used to be used as a military base and also said that It also wants to open an embassy for this Pacific island country.
China has not yet responded to a Reuters request for comment on the report. But last January There was a social media post from the Chinese Embassy regarding the appointment of the head. “Chinese Police Station in Kiribati” Released
Eri Arithiara, Acting Police Commissioner of Kiribati told Reuters that He has requested police assistance from China from 2022, but no police station has been established in the island yet. In the past year A dozen or so Chinese uniformed police officers were stationed for six months before being rotated in with new ones.
A source at the Chinese embassy confirmed that There are actually uniformed police working in Kiribati. But no police station was established.
In 2022, China, Kiribati’s major infrastructure lender, It has previously attempted to strike regional agreements on trade and security with the country’s government. But was not successful
Since 2022, China has sent its own police officers to serve in the Solomon Islands. Under a secret security agreement which the US government and Australia criticized It undermines stability in the region.
Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea, the largest island country in the Pacific region, Came out to state in February that It will not accept offers of assistance for police and surveillance technology from China. After the news of this negotiation Drawing criticism from the US government and Australia
Source: Reuters
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