China FM visits Kiribati where fishing ground is at stake

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — China's foreign minister was due to visit the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati on Friday where the future of a vast fishing ground is at stake.

The four-hour visit by Wang Yi was his second stop on an eight-nation tour that comes amid growing concerns about Beijing’s military and financial ambitions in the South Pacific region.

Kiribati closed its borders this year as it tries to stamp out an outbreak of COVID-19. But its government made a rare exception to allow Wang and his 20-strong delegation into the country for face-to-face discussions.

At stake in Kiribati is the future of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, a stretch of ocean the size of California that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In November, Kiribati President Taneti Maamau announced the government planned to end the commercial fishing ban that had been in place since 2015 and begin to sustainably fish the area.

Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in security studies at New Zealand's Massey University, said she expected there would be some fisheries agreements between China and Kiribati that would come from Wang's visit.

Powles said China, which already dominates fishing in the region, had offered to upgrade an airport runway and causeway in the Phoenix Island group.

“The worry is that this would essentially obliterate the fish stock,” she said. “That it would severely damage fish stocks that are already under pressure.”

She said there were also concerns that any kind of base for Chinese commercial fishing fleets in Kiribati could also be used as an additional hub for Beijing's surveillance activities.

Kiribati's president said Wang would visit his residence for bilateral discussions during the visit, and emphasized the health protocols that were in place.

Maamau...