When New Zealand’s right-wing government unexpectedly announced an aid review for its Pacific neighbor last week – ostensibly over an alleged snub to a top official – it “caused serious anxiety” for the approximately 120,000 people who live in Kiribati, according to one i-Kiribati minister.
Foreign aid accounted for 18% of Kiribati’s national income in 2022, according to the Lowy Institute – with New Zealand among its largest donors. The Micronesian nation of 33 coral islands is scattered over a remote area of the central Pacific that spans 3.5 million square kilometers (1.3 million square miles) – an area larger than India.
Though among the least populated countries, Kiribati has one of the world’s largest exclusive economic zones. Its relative proximity to Hawaii and United States military bases in Guam also gives it strategic importance as great powers compete for influence in the vast waterways between Asia and the Americas. The diplomatic fallout has put fresh attention on the battle for influence in the Pacific between China and Western nations, mainly the United States.
It also comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration threatens to disrupt American relations in the region, with concerns from Pacific leaders over how US withdrawals from the Paris climate agreement and World Health Organization, as well as a 90-day aid freeze, will impact vulnerable communities. The dispute erupted last week with a sudden move from New Zealand’s deputy prime minister.
Winston Peters, also New Zealand’s foreign minister, put tens of millions of dollars in assistance for Kiribati under review after President Taneti Maamau pulled out of a planned meeting, Peters’ spokesperson told CNN. Peters had planned to lead a delegation to Kiribati last month, which included the handover of a New Zealand-funded $14 million hospital upgrade. But a week before they were set to arrive, Kiribati told the delegation that Maamau, who is also the country’s foreign minister, “was no longer available” to receive them, Peters’ spokesperson said.
“The lack of political-level contact makes it very difficult for us to agree joint priorities for our development program, and to ensure that it is well targeted and delivers good value for money,” Peters’ office added. The dispute may reflect concern shared among Western countries that their interests in the Pacific are being weakened by China’s diplomatic and economic outreach, experts say.
Maamau had embarked on a visit to two of Kiribati’s nearest neighbors when the dispute became public. “Kiribati has clearly indicated who its preferred partners are in the region: Fiji, Nauru and then, of course, China,” Powles said.
“Both New Zealand, as we’ve just seen, and Australia have had challenges in terms of engaging with Kiribati and getting the type of access that they would hope to get. Whereas China has not had those same challenges at all.”
Many Pacific nations have forged closer ties with Beijing in recent years. In 2019, pro-China President Maamau oversaw Kiribati’s switch in diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China, one of several Pacific countries to do so.Under Maamau, who was re-elected to a third term in October last year, Kiribati has taken an authoritarian and isolationist turn, critics say. A prominent opposition leader last year raised concerns over a lack of transparency about 10 agreements signed between Kiribati and China in 2022.
Tensions rose that year when Maamau also pulled out of the Pacific Islands Forum, threatening the unity of the 18-member grouping at a time when the region faced increased geopolitical pressure. It rejoined in 2023, though some suspected Beijing’s hand in the decision to leave, a claim China’s Foreign Ministry rejected as “completely groundless.”
Source: Here