China denies military base ambitions in Pacific Islands

SYDNEY: China's embassy in Fiji denied on Thursday that Beijing wanted a military base or sphere of influence in the Pacific Islands, after Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said islands were trying to cope with a powerful China seeking to spread its influence.

"The claims about China setting up a military base in the Pacific are false narratives," an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

"China's presence in the Pacific is focused on building roads and bridges to improve people's livelihoods, not on stationing troops or setting up military bases."

Rabuka said on Wednesday his country had development cooperation with China, but was opposed to Beijing establishing a military base in the region. In any case, China did not need a base to project power in the region, he added.

China tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in September that flew over Fiji to land 11,000 km (6,800 miles) from China in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean.

"If they can very well target an empty space they can very well target occupied space," Rabuka told the National Press Club in Canberra.

Washington became concerned about China's ambition to gain a military foothold in the Pacific Islands in 2018 when Beijing sought to redevelop a naval base in Papua New Guinea and a military base in Fiji. China was outbid by Australia for both projects.

The concern resurfaced in 2022 when China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands, prompting Washington to warn it would respond if Beijing established a permanent military presence.

In November, the outgoing U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell urged the Trump administration to keep its focus on the region because China wanted to build bases in the Pacific Islands.

The Chinese embassy spokesperson said Fiji and China respect each other's sovereignty.

"China has no interest in geopolitical competition, or seeking the so-called 'sphere of influence'," the statement added.

China has established a police presence in Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu.