<p>-
- Fiji says China military base not welcome as Pacific islands steer between superpowers</p>
<p>Kirsty NeedhamJuly 2, 2025 at 6:57 AM</p>
<p>By Kirsty Needham</p>
<p>SYDNEY (Reuters) -Fiji is opposed to China setting up a military base in the Pacific Islands, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said on Wednesday, adding that it did not need such a base to project power, as shown by an intercontinental ballistic missile test.</p>
<p>Strategically placed between the United States and Asia, the Pacific Islands are a focus of rivalry between Washington and Beijing for security ties.</p>
<p>The islands were trying to cope with a big, powerful China seeking to spread its influence, Rabuka told the National Press Club in the Australian capital, adding that Beijing understood he would lobby other Pacific leaders against such a base.</p>
<p>"Pacific leaders in all their recent discussions have tried to go for policies that are friendly to all and enemies to none - and it is a fairly tough course to steer, but it is possible," he added.</p>
<p>The Pacific would feel the impact of any conflict over the Taiwan Strait between major powers, a possibility already being planned for by China and other nations, he said.</p>
<p>Fiji opposes establishment of a military base by China, he said, in response to queries on Beijing's security ambitions in a region where it already has a security pact with the Solomon Islands and a police presence in several nations.</p>
<p>"If they want to come, who would welcome them?" he said. "Not Fiji."</p>
<p>China's embassy in Fiji did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Beijing has previously ruled out establishing a military base in the Solomon Islands.</p>
<p>China did not need a base to project power, Rabuka added, as Beijing tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in September that flew over Fiji to land in international waters.</p>
<p>China showed off its coast guard to 10 visiting leaders of Pacific islands in May, after registering two dozen of its vessels with a regional fisheries commission last year, though it has yet to start South Pacific patrols.</p>
<p>China's coast guard would need to "observe our sovereignty, our sovereign waters", Rabuka said.</p>
<p>Fiji's cooperation with China to develop infrastructure should not affect how it interacts with Australia, New Zealand and the United States, he added.</p>
<p>To manage strategic competition in the region, Rabuka is trying to build support for an Ocean of Peace treaty to ensure outsiders respect its unity and the "rejection of coercion as a means to achieve security, economic or political advantage".</p>
<p>Leaders of the 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum will consider the pact at a meeting in September.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney, Editing by Clarence Fernandez)</p>
Source: AOL Politics
Source: AsherMag
Read More >> Full Article on Source: Astro Blog
#US #ShowBiz #Sports #Politics #Celebs