 "Vantage | What is China's police doing in America's backyard?")
China has made a very bold move. It has deployed uniformed police officers to Kiribati. Around 12 of them arrived last year, and the plan is to rotate the cops every six months. Kiribati is a tiny island nation in the Pacific with a total population of just 115,000 people.
Kiribati is strategically important as its closest neighbour is the United States of America, specifically the state of Hawaii. Plus, it has one of the largest exclusive economic zones. There are some 3.5 million square kilometres of it. So, simply put, Kiribati is prime real estate in the Pacific.
China signed a security deal back in 2022 that allowed it to station police officers in Kiribati. There is no police station yet, but down the line, who knows? Now, Washington has not taken this news well. The US is angry and lashing out. “We do not believe importing security forces from China will help any Pacific island country. Instead, doing so risks fueling regional and international tensions,” said the official statement.
But they are just complaining; the race for Kiribati did not begin yesterday; in 2021, China was eyeing a base there. The Chinese decided to upgrade an airstrip from the Second World War. So Washington countered. The US promised to rebuild a wharf and open an embassy in Kiribati. It has been more than two years now. Neither promise has been fulfilled.
This sums up what’s happening in the Pacific. China makes the first move, and the US offers a counter. But the politics in Washington drown it out. For example, in Joe Biden’s massive aid bill worth more than 100 billion dollars, some of the money is meant for the Pacific islands, specifically three of them—the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Micronesia—and the US agreed to give them economic assistance. In return, Washington got military access to their ports—a win-win deal. But the money hasn’t come yet, as it is yet to be passed by the US Congress. So these island nations are losing patience. The Marshall Islands’ president has issued a dire warning, saying relations are being destroyed by the aid delay.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThese countries are not economic powerhouses. They don’t have a lot of people. But they do need money. The rising seas are slowly eating up these islands. So climate financing is the need of the hour. It is an existential issue for the Pacific. But all Washington does is debate and bicker over domestic politics.
Meanwhile, China has no such issues. If Xi Jinping says he will give money, the money will come. That’s what happened in Kiribati. Until 2019, they recognised the regime in Taiwan, but that year, they changed sides. Kiribati decided to switch from Taiwan to China, and the reward was instant. In 2020, China gave aid worth 21 million dollars to Kiribati. For a country of 115,000 people, that’s a lot of money, and in return, Kiribati signed the security deal.
So did another Pacific country, for example, the Solomon Islands; they too are hosting Chinese police officers. But what’s the end game here? Why is Beijing sending cops to the Pacific? Kiribati says the officers are working with the local police. They are helping with the crime database. But there is a strategic angle. First, it helps with surveillance. These cops can keep tabs on local politics and attitudes and maybe even influence or pressure leaders.
The second issue is to control the diaspora. Some 80,000 Chinese live in the Pacific. This is China’s way of policing them, and finally, to one-up the US. Police officers represent a Chinese security presence. They may not be soldiers, but they do help China project power. Beijing’s ultimate goal is to have a pan-Pacific policing presence. It tried that in 2022, but the Pacific Islands rejected them, however the question is: how much longer can they resist? Talks of values and democracy won’t keep the Pacific islands afloat. They need funds, and they need it now.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
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