Kiribati’s Liaison With China Threatens Sushi And Security

Kiribati stunned its neighbors—and the world—by abruptly pulling out of the Pacific Island Forum on July 10. Speculation is rampant that China lies behind the move. Kiribati has been cozying up to China since 2019, when it aborted its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan—and accepted a $66 million grant from China shortly thereafter. Elsewhere in the Pacific, the Solomon Islands recently made headlines when it inked a security agreement with China, raising fears that China would establish a naval base there. China’s potential meddling in Kiribati is even more concerning because of its security implications and drastic environmental consequences. The U.S. must act to stop Kiribati from destroying a UNESCSC
O World Heritage Site, threatening a critical tuna spawning ground, and allowing China to develop an airstrip dangerously close to U.S. territory.

The Republic of Kiribati is a nation of 113,000 people and thirty-three small islands in the Central Pacific, roughly between Australia and Hawaii. Its waters span 1.4 million square miles, an area roughly the size of India. They are home to an archipelago of eight breathtakingly beautiful, isolated atolls known as the Phoenix Islands. Only one, Kanton, is inhabited by about 20-50 people and an administrative unit. Kanton also hosts an abandoned airstrip built by the U.S. during World War II. Two members of the Phoenix group, Howard and Baker, lie north of Kiribati, in U.S. territory.

The islands have tremendous ecological value. They are one of the few remaining places on earth where marine dynamics are largely undisturbed by humans. The area contains hundreds of species, including rare fish and corals. It is also a fertile tuna spawning ground. More tuna is caught in Kiribati’s waters than in any other country in the world. The regional fisheries commission to which it belongs covers 55% of the global tuna catch. Fishing licenses comprise more than 70% of Kiribati’s revenue.

In the mid-2000s, the New England Aquarium, Conservation International, and the Government of Kiribati formed the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) and a related PIPA Trust to protect the area. The Trust was formed under the laws of Kiribati and is governed by a board of directors appointed by all three partners. Under the Trust, PIPA remains closed to commercial fishing, and the Trust compensates Kiribati for the lost revenue from fishing licenses. PIPA became the world’s largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site, a model for world-class Marine Protected Areas, and a sustainable fishing mechanism—raising Kiribati’s global profile.

In November 2021, Kiribati announced that the Trust was no longer cost-effective and that it would re-open PIPA to commercial fishing. The government claimed that demand for fishing in Kiribati’s EEZ has declined by 8% since PIPA closed to commercial fishing, and the PIPA endowment fund had not raised enough to compensate it. The cabinet estimated that, by opening PIPA, the government would receive $200 million in annual fishing license fees. Kiribati announced a plan to replace the Trust with Marine Spatial Planning—which will cause it to lose its UNESCO World Heritage designation.

Many believe China is behind the decision to open PIPA, which Kiribati’s government has vigorously denied. However, the decision comes at a time of rising Chinese influence in Kiribati, including the recent signing of ten trade deals with China. China gave Kiribati more than $4.2 million in aid for “livelihood projects” in the weeks preceding its 2021 presidential election, in which diplomatic recognition of Taiwan was again an issue.

China appears to have two main goals: preferred access to Kiribati’s tuna, and proximity to U.S. waters. China is drastically overfishing the world’s tuna, as the world’s top perpetrator of Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing. China has also stated publicly that, at Kiribati’s request, it has entered into discussions about developing the airstrip on Kanton Island. The airstrip lies approximately 1,600 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii, on the sea lanes that connect Hawaii with Australia and New Zealand. At least one report states that China has already provided funding to develop Kanton and upgrade the airstrip. Kiribati’s President has denied that the airstrip will be used for military purposes. Yet China has a history of building “non-military” airstrips in the Pacific and militarizing them. On Kanton, it could install military and surveillance equipment perilously close to U.S. territory.

The U.S. must move fast to counter Chinese influence in Kiribati and elsewhere in the Pacific, to save the one of the world’s natural treasures, and protect world’s tuna supply. Fortunately, the law is on the U.S.’s side. Development of the Kanton airstrip by China is prohibited by the 1979 Treaty of Friendship and Territorial Sovereignty between Kiribati and the U.S., which prohibits U.S.-built facilities such as the Kanton airfield from being made available to third parties for military purposes without U.S. consent. Even if China claims that it will not be developing the airstrip for military purposes, its ability to quickly militarize the airstrip would be a treaty violation in-the-making. The U.S. would be wise to remind Kiribati of China’s history of breaking promises not to militarize airstrips elsewhere, and clarifying what actions by China would constitute a treaty violation. PIPA too, might be an area ripe for litigation. The PIPA Conservation Trust Act limits the ability of Kiribati’s parliament to unilaterally repeal or amend the Act. The U.S. should engage with Trust board members, and pressure Kiribati’s government through political channels and in court. Agreements with Kiribati to protect PIPA and fight illegal fishing can also help counter Chinese influence while protecting the planet. The U.S. might work with Japan and South Korea, whose fishing vessels are also among the largest harvesters of Western and Central Pacific tuna, to develop fishing and conservation agreements with Kiribati and its Pacific neighbors.

Opening PIPA and allowing development of the Kanton airstrip would harm the global fish supply. It would destroy a world heritage site, and endanger international security. The U.S. must work with Kiribati to counter China’s insatiable hunger for fish and power. The world’s sandwiches, sushi, and security are at stake.