China denies military base ambitions in Pacific Islands

3/7/2025 16:47

China's embassy in Fiji denied on Thursday that Beijing wanted a military base or sphere of influence in the Pacific Islands, after Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said islands were trying to cope with a powerful China seeking to spread its influence.



"The claims about China setting up a military base in the Pacific are false narratives," an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.



"China's presence in the Pacific is focused on building roads and bridges to improve people's livelihoods, not on stationing troops or setting up military bases."



Rabuka said on Wednesday his country had development cooperation with China, but was opposed to Beijing establishing a military base in the region. In any case, China did not need a base to project power in the region, he added.



China tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in September that flew over Fiji to land 11,000 km from China in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean.