Fate of the Pacific
Photograph of Kiribati President and Chinese President Taneti Maamau and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo of the Associated Press.
On 22 June, Republic of Kiribati’s 55,000 voters went to the polls in a presidential election that may very well determine the future of the Pacific region.
President Taneti Maamau, who made surprised the international press last year with a decision to withdraw government support from Taiwan, was resoundingly re-elected to his office with nearly 60 per cent of the vote.
Mr Maamau beat his rival, who was, until last November, a close political ally, Banuera Berina, despite many predictions that the opposition would sweep the election.
Mr Berina pledged to reverse the administration’s stance on China and re-recognise Taipei, over accusations that Mr Maamau had not consulted party leaders or the populace before making the decision.
After the government’s announcement, political demonstrations appeared around the country, with protestors yelling ‘We love Taiwan, we hate China, we want peace’.
The decision came as a shock to most of the international community, with reports saying that the Kiribati Ambassador to the United Nations Teburoro Tito, a former president, was in the office of the UN Secretary-General, advocating for further inclusion of Taiwan in UN affairs at the time of the announcement, as reported by Foreign Policy.
Mr Tito, who is regarded as the elder statesman of Mr Maamau’s party, the Tobwaan Kiribati Party, attributed the electoral win as a show of support by the electorate of the government’s China policy.
The move, reportedly, came after the Taiwanese government refused to give a $60 million grant to Kiribati for the purchase of an aircraft to connect some of the Kiribati islands. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who distains chequebook diplomacy, refused the request to escalate Taiwanese aid dramatically from $10 million.
The government has described Chinese aid to be in the hundreds of millions, but no concrete figures have been released.
In April parliamentary elections eliminated Mr Maamau legislative majority, with the opposition gaining a majority of 23 seats. This result led many to believe that Mr Maamau had lost the confidence of the electorate, according to The Guardian.
Mr Maamau has switched the government’s policy from the environmental advocacy programmes of his predecessor, Anote Tong. The former president had become famous for his speeches about carbon emissions and rising sea levels, which, according to some studies, could sea Kiribati mostly underwater within 50 years.
Mr Maamau’s government has shifted focus, challenging the legitimacy of similar scientific studies. The government now advocates for further investment in tourism and development port facilities on Christmas Island, which lies approximately 1,300 miles south of the island of Honolulu, the headquarters of U.S. Pacific Command.
However, the same ports that are reportedly being developed to attract Pacific cruise liners could also be used to service Chinese military vessels, lending a sharp boost the Chinese military influence in the region, according to CNBC.
Reports have also appeared showing interest from the Chinese government in leasing the Kiribati island of Tulagi, the former capital under British and Japanese rule.
Chinese interests in the region were made clear when an official photo of Mr Maamau, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Kiribati Minister Mikarite Temari, who is involved in the development of Christmas Island. The photograph was taken at the signing ceremony of the Belt and Road Memorandum of Understanding, an international infrastructure project of the Chinese government.
While the United States remains an influential figure in Kiribati politics, due to the early recognition of the nation’s independence in 1979 and a Treaty of Friendship, the American government does not offer aid to Kiribati and thus have limited direct influence within Kiribati.
Kiribati had faced international criticism due to the complete lack of controls on political contributions. This policy had led to many accusations that both Taiwan and mainland China give aid to Kiribati political parties.
In November, an Australian crew from the television show ‘60 Minutes’ was put under house arrest, while reporting on Chinese policies in Kiribati due to ‘lack of proper authorisations’. The crew soon flew out of the country, amidst accusations from the opposition of corruption and lack of media freedoms.
A reporter in the country said that the Kiribati government had been given $250,000 AUD in cash soon before the announcement, as reported by Foreign Policy.
Although Kiribati, with an estimated population of approximately 120,000, rarely gets attention on the international stage, the effects of this election will have significant impact on the balance of power in the Pacific and is undoubtedly a victory for the expansionist government of Mr Xi.
Sources:
Pala, Christopher. ‘China Could Be in Reach of Hawaii After Kiribati Elects Pro-Beijing President’. Foreign Policy, The FP Group, 19 June 2020,
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/19/kiribati-election-china-taiwan/
Pala, Christopher. ‘Boost for Beijing: pro-China president wins re-election in Kiribati’. The Guardian, Guardian Media Group, 22 June 2020,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/23/pro-china-president-wins-re-election-in-kiribati
Kempe, Frederick. ‘Op-Ed: Who China’s Xi Jinping really wants to win the 2020 U.S. election’. CNBC, NBCUniversal, 27 June 2020,