Washington: The United States has warned Pacific island nations against assistance from Chinese security forces after it was revealed that Chinese police were operating in the remote island nation of Kiribati next door to Hawaii.
Acting Kiribati Police Commissioner Eri Aritiera said uniformed Chinese officers were working with Kiribati Police in the community policing and crime database program, Reuters reported on Friday.
The United States is seeking a greater role for its Coast Guard in helping remote Pacific island nations monitor millions of kilometers of ocean-rich tuna — a move that also strengthens surveillance as a rivalry with China over security ties in the region intensifies.
US Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry on patrol near Kiribati.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Coast Guard and Kiribati police boarded two Chinese fishing boats during an anti-illegal fishing patrol in the country's vast exclusive economic zone, but found no problems on board, a Coast Guard official said.
In response to a request for comment on the Reuters police report, a US State Department spokesperson said: “We do not believe that importing security forces from the People’s Republic of China would help any Pacific Island country. Instead, doing so risks fueling regional and international tensions,” he said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
The official added that Washington does not tolerate China's “transnational repression efforts,” including its attempts to establish police stations around the world.
“We are concerned about the potential impacts of security agreements and security-related cyber cooperation with the People’s Republic of China on the autonomy of any Pacific island nation,” the spokesperson said.
Kiribati, a country with a population of 115,000, is considered strategic despite its small size, because it is relatively close to Hawaii and controls an exclusive economic zone of 3.5 million square kilometers. It also hosts a Japanese satellite tracking station.
China has announced plans to rebuild a World War II US military airstrip on the island of Canton in Kiribati, alarming the United States.
