PM Sovaleni tells visiting US State Secretary’s delegation ‘Tonga recognised Solomon Islands sovereignty’ in reference to the SI-Sino security pact
TONGA – the only island Kingdom in the Pacific – has told the visiting Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Tonga recognises the sovereignty of Solomon Islands.
Prime minister, formally Siaosi Sovaleni, and now styling himself as Hu’akavameiliku, was responding to a question by an American reporter travelling with Mr Blinken regarding the security pact Solomon Islands and China signed last year.
She prefaced her question by saying, “As Tonga was one of three militaries in the region (Note, there are actually six militaries permanently in region) ‘whether or not a security pact similar to the one the Solomon Islands struck last year is on the table here, or whether or not you’ve chosen to align more with the U.S. and its regional allies like Australia.”
Hu’akavameiliku replied, “… Tonga recognised Solomon Islands’ sovereignty. With regard to the security arrangement or agreement, we haven’t had any discussion on actually having such an agreement in place,’
“Our relationship is basically right now about development issues such as infrastructure development and so forth,” the Prime Minister said.
He also told the news conference that Tonga is repaying its long standing financial debt to China, adding his country had no problems with paying the estimated US$108 million owed to Beijing.
The question came up at a joint press conference in Nuku’alofa with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
An American reporter referred to claims by former Micronesia president David Panuelo that China was engaged in political warfare in his country, and asked the prime minister:
‘Looking at your debt situation among other issues, I was wondering if you feel China is doing the same thing in your country.’
The Tongan prime minister, replied; ‘With regards to our debt to China, we have started officially to actually start paying off our debt to China.
“We don’t have any problems or concerns with regards to that.’ It’s currently not possible to verify the status of Tonga’s estimated US$223 million foreign debt as the Central Bank of Tonga website has been hacked by some kind of gambling website.
Tonga’s China debt goes back to the 2006 Nuku’alofa riots which destroyed a large part of the capital’s business district. Six months later then royal appointed Prime Minister Fred Sevele signed a deal for what was said to be a soft term loan over 20 years.
Subsequently it reportedly became a severe burden on Tonga’s economy with successive prime ministers, including the first democratically elected one, ‘Akilisi Pōhiva, tried to win relief from.
Beijing has never yielded on it.
The same American reporter who asked about the loan then said to Blinken: ‘to get into this building today, you had to walk under a sign that said China aid. This building was built with a grant from the Chinese Government. We’ve seen signs of Chinese presence all across this island, this country. Is the United States late to the game here?’
Blinken responded:
“We have no objection to the investments by or engagements by any other country, including China. On the contrary, if it’s done in a productive way, if it really is responsive to the needs of people, if it helps generate a race to the top with others who want to help out, that’s a good thing.”
BY Alfred Sasako
