Rabuka has His Work Cut Out in His Kiribati Mission
If Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka can successfully get Kiribati back in the Pacific Islands Forum fold, it will be a feather in his cap for regional geopolitics.
Since becoming PM a month ago,
Mr Rabuka has gained recognition for his mission to restore unity in PIF. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised Mr Rabuka for his move on Kiribati. Mr Rabuka wants to hand over the PIF chair to Cook Islands as a united organisation. Mr Rabuka would repair the damage that occurred while his predecessor Voreqe Bainimarama was chair last year. Kiribati was not happy with the processes that were followed to get the Federated States of Micronesia stay in PIF after they protested the appointment of Henry Puna, former Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, as PIF secretary-general. The Micronesians contended that the position should have gone to them not Polynesia. In a deal struck in Suva last year they came back to the fold, but without Kiribati. Mr Bainimarama tried to reach out to Kiribati but failed to convince the small island nation to return to PIF. The status quo remained when Mr Bainimarama lost the battle to form a coalition Government last month.
Mr Rabuka has picked up the baton and continued from where Mr Bainimarama left off. He will need to master all the skills he acquired in international diplomacy and use his charisma to pull this off. After all the help offered by Fiji to Kiribati in terms of the impact of climate change on rising sea level and the cordial relations between the two countries, Kiribati’s stubborn and reticent stand is surprising.
It may be a coincidence that it came after Kiribati switched its allegiance from Taiwan to China. It signed up to 10 agreements for development cooperation between the two countries
The cooperation was on the Belt and Road initiative, economic and infrastructure development, livelihood projects, climate change, disaster risk reduction, tourism, protocols on dispatching medical teams, marine transportation and COVID-19 medical supplies.
Kiribati President Taneti Maamau said the deals demonstrated China’s commitment to enhancing mutual trust, building consensus, expanding cooperation, and deepening friendship with his country.
Some observers say China has a very strong influence on Kiribati. Could it be linked to Mr Bainimarama’s and the PIF’s invitation to Pamela Harris, Vice President of the United States, to address the leaders summit virtually in Suva last year? China was not invited and it is understood the Chinese were not very happy.
In the context of regional geopolitics and super power rivalry, China’s growing influence in the region is a matter of concern for the USA. Is Kiribati the pawn in this power game or does it have a legitimate concern about PIF governance principles? Mr Rabuka has got his work cut out for him when he meet’s President Maamau.