Prime Minister (PM) of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka made Chinese police leave his country, claiming they are no longer necessary for a Pacific police force on Wednesday, March 27th.
Despite the removal, he has not discarded the agreement with the Chinese and allowed senior Fiji police officers to train in China. Chinese police were also embedded with local police.
PM Rabuka came into office in 2022 and has attempted to carefully maintain a relationship with China, mostly with investment and developmental aid.
He has been critical of China’s attempts at spreading influence and implanting themselves in other island nations, such as the Solomon’s. Similar concern was a reason he decided to remove Chinese police from Fiji.
Rabuka said he does not “blame” neighboring island nations for siding with China, elaborating: “That’s what small developing islands of the Pacific will look at. We all want that sort of development.”
