Kiribati Plays The Game

President Anote Tong says “I don't think Taiwan is exerting any greater influence than any of the countries that we currently have relations with.” Photo: Samantha Magick

Kiribati may have gotten more than it bargained for when it switched diplomatic recognition from China to Taiwan after President Anote Tong came to power last November.

At that time, the efforts of the two rival nations to influence Kiribati's domestic politics became a source of tension between President Tong and his elder brother Dr. Harry Tong, who is also the opposition leader. Allegations about payoffs by both the Chinese and the Taiwanese ambassadors to Kiribati politicians circulated, and were in some cases, confirmed by relevant officials.

Given this background, many I-Kiribati may have hoped that the diplomatic wrangling would have died down as time passed. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

In July, President Tong told Agence France Presse (AFP) that he was concerned about the actions of three Chinese diplomats who have remained in Tarawa despite the severing of official ties between China and Kiribati.

The president also expressed his concern about China's influence over domestic politics, and said that he believed Beijing was behind a huge demonstration against his decision to recognize Taiwan.

"I think we have to keep an eye out on their real role, the role they are playing in staying back," the president told AFP.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has however, downplayed concerns about the actions of the Chinese on Tarawa, noting that ties were "solid" between the two countries. The ministry dodged the issue of the Chinese diplomats.

Taiwanese officials said the strength of the fledgling relationship between the two countries was illustrated by the fact that several high-ranking delegations have been exchanged between the two countries. Among these was a mission headed by Taiwan's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau, which attended the 25th anniversary of Kiribati's independence on July 12.

Taiwan's foreign affairs ministry also points to the five-member "agricultural technical mission" that has been sent to Tarawa as an example of diplomatic progress. But such activism by Taiwan's government is not without its critics on Kiribati.

"(Taiwan's) power is spreading like wildfire among our people," Dr. Harry Tong told PACNEWS in late July. Dr. Tong alleged that Taiwan had undue influence among the republic's clergy.

President Tong, speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, denied Dr. Tong's claims that Kiribati's relationship with Taiwan was having a deleterious effect on the country. "I don't think Taiwan is exerting any greater influence than any of the countries that we currently have relations with," he said.

Beijing and Taipei's diplomatic maneuvers have left many in Kiribati with the sense that their country has become a battleground for Taiwan and China. Given that Taiwan's Vice President Annette Lu has described the cross-Taiwan Strait rivalry as "a state of quasi-war," it is not surprising that the archipelago nation would become a key actor in the two countries' strategic calculations.

At the heart of the issue is China's former satellite tracking station on Tarawa. This facility, formerly known as the China Space Tarawa Tracking and Control Station, was central to China's successful manned space flight in October 2003. But Taiwanese defense experts said it also has a less benign purpose.

"The base was designed to help China with its missile and space warfare programs," one military official told Pacific Magazine on condition of anonymity. "Now that it is gone, China will have real difficulties carrying on with its programs until a replacement site is designated."

China's space and missile program is hardly an abstract concern for Taiwan. According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, the communist state has more than 500 short and medium range ballistic missiles stationed within striking distance of the democratic country. Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, now the head of China's Central Military Commission, pledged recently that China would "recover" Taiwan by the year 2020.

Political tensions between Beijing and Taipei have been increasing after the re-election of President Chen Shui-bian in March. One of the primary sources of strife between the two nations is President Chen's plan to reform Taiwan's constitution by the end of his term in 2008. Beijing sees the move as a timetable for independence, and has not been mollified by President Chen's promises not to change any aspects of the constitution related to national sovereignty.

This diplomatic tussle is now playing itself out in other arenas, and Kiribati is the latest country to be thrust into the heart of a dispute which is in many ways but a distant concern to its citizens.