The country’s Christmas atoll, which has a spare runway and deep lagoon which could easily be turned into a port, is just 1,300 miles south of Honolulu, home to the US Pacific Command, Prior to 2003, Kiribati hosted a Chinese space tracking station in a part of the world where the US tests missiles and other military hardware. Opposition presidential candidate, Banuera Berina, said China must stop campaigning for his rival, and caretaker Kiribati president, Taneti Maamau. Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau smiles during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 6, 2020. Kiribati presidential election could lead to restoration of Taiwan ties 11:13 pm GMT+12, 16/06/2020, Kiribati The presidential election in Kiribati scheduled for 22 June might lead to the Pacific island nation restoring ties with Taiwan after switching to China last September, reports said Tuesday. "Tong, who retired from politics in 2016, oversaw a shift in Kiribati's ties from China to Taiwan during his first term in 2003.Kiribati has a small land mass yet controls large swathes of ocean through its string of coral islands. Kiribati’s incumbent leader, President Taneti Maamau, has secured a second term in a fiercely fought election victory that has also tightened China’s foothold in the central Pacific. Chinese officials have not confirmed if it will be reopened but the possibility, especially after a Maamau win, has stoked anxieties among western powers. The people of Kiribati will go to the polls today to vote in a presidential election. Since Tsai Ing-wen, who advocates for Taiwanese independence, became Taiwan’s president in 2016, China has made a big push to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, and has used financial incentives to convince at least seven countries to pull recognition from Taiwan. “Beijing's strategy doesn't just to threaten to engulf Kiribati into an economic "debt trap" relationship, but is also designed to establish a future military outpost that would allow the People’s Liberation Army to threaten US forces in Hawaii or isolate Australia and New Zealand in the event of a future conflict in the Indo-Pacific,” he said. The result could have far-reaching strategic implications for the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region Fierce Presidential Election Erupts in Pacific Island Nation of Kiribati amid China-Taiwan Tussle FILE PHOTO: China's President Xi Jinping and Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau (L) attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China January 6, 2020. "Despite having a small land mass, Kiribati, a former British colony, controls large swathes of ocean through its string of coral islands in 32 atolls dispersed across 1.3 million square miles in the central Pacific. Kiribati will hold a presidential election on June 22, 2020 following parliamentary elections this past April. Ahead of the election, James Fanell, a former director of intelligence of the Pacific Fleet, told the Telegraph that China’s strategy to expand into the Mid-Pacific through its Belt and Road Initiative was clear. During the last parliamentary elections, held in December 2015 with a runoff in January 2016, the Boutokan te Koaua Party (BTK), whose name means Pillars of Truth, won 26 seats and two parties that merged to form the Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TBK), Embrace Kiribati, wo… (Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo) "The people have been persuaded to back the government based on the lavish promises made during the campaign," Tong said by phone. “This is a blow to not only Taiwan’s hopes to reestablish ties with Kiribati following the latter’s switch to China last year, but also to US, Australian, and Japanese hopes to counter China in Oceania, which has increasingly become a new geostrategic battleground in great power competition.”Taiwan's foreign ministry on Tuesday said it would "continue to pay attention to the country's political situation and its possible impact on the region" and would work with like-minded countries to maintain "security, stability, freedom and democratic governance" in the Pacific. Maamau pushed the decision, which caused his split with Berina, who opposed the switch and in fact even tried to pass a no-confidence motion to oust Maamau. 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Maamau won the most votes in 16 of the 23 island constituencies.Opposition spokesman Rimon Rimon told Reuters by phone from Kiribati that he expected the government to start approaching opposition lawmakers to form a majority in parliament after loyalties were evenly split going into the vote.Maamau's office did not immediately respond to Reuters' questions.The result helps lock in the new diplomatic relationship between Tarawa and Beijing, ending any immediate bid by Taiwan to reclaim a diplomatic ally in the Pacific after it was muscled out of its alliances with China claims democratic Taiwan as its territory with no right to state-to-state ties.Taiwan's foreign ministry said it would keep paying close attention to developments in Kiribati and continue to cooperate with like-minded countries to work for "security, stability, freedom, openness and democratic governance in the Pacific region".Taiwan now has formal diplomatic ties with just 15 countries worldwide, four of which are in the Pacific – Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu and Palau.Former president Anote Tong told Reuters that the Kiribati government would now need to deliver on its campaign promises.
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