The election could open the door for Taiwan to reclaim the strategic ally it lost to China last year. FMTNews
Xi Jinping and Kiribati’s leader Taneti Maamau walk together at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan 6.
Kiribati, the site of a mothballed Chinese space tracking station in the central Pacific, has a finely balanced parliament with loyalties evenly split between President Taneti Maamau and ally-turned-rival Banuera Berina, who broke from the government last year citing concerns over the switch. “There are some strong feelings against China particularly with the very active participation of the Chinese diplomatic mission during the campaign,” said Tong.
“China is willing to work with the Kiribati government, on the basis of the one-China principle, to promote the continuous development of Sino-Kiribati ties, to help with the well-being of both countries people,” the ministry said. The US embassy in Fiji, which oversees relations with Kiribati, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Many Pacific island nations, long-aligned with the United States and its allies, have been forging closer ties with China in recent years amid a push by Beijing to increase its diplomatic and financial clout in the region.Taiwan, which shares a robust yet unofficial relationship with the United States, now has only 15 formal allies left worldwide.
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