Fiji’s military leader Voreqe Bainimarama wants to ditch traditional ties with Australia, New Zealand and the US, and align his Pacific Island nation with China, it was reported yesterday.
Speaking to Fijivillage News Web site during a visit to China, the self-appointed prime minister said China was the one country that understands the reforms he is trying to implement.
Bainimarama has had a fractious relationship with his neighbors since seizing power in a 2006 coup. Fiji has been suspended from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth and has been hit with sanctions by Australia, New Zealand and the US as well as the EU.
Bainimarama said he was prepared to trade with Australia and New Zealand, but at a political level it made more sense to align with China.
China “is the only nation that can help assist Fiji in its reforms because of the way the Chinese think. They think outside the box. What they want to do they do, they are visionary in what they do,” he told the Web site.
“I think we need to forget about the [Pacific] Forum, about Australia and New Zealand. Let’s maintain the trade but forget about the politics,” he said.
He said Fiji needed to take advantage of its “understanding” with China to see how Beijing can assist with Fiji’s development.
“We need infrastructure, we need water, we need electricity. Australia and New Zealand and America, none of those nations are going to provide that. We know that now because of their policies towards us so let’s forget about these nations,” he said.
Since the 2006 coup, Bainimarama has ignored demands for an immediate return to democratic elections. His response has been to tear up the Constitution, sack the judiciary and tighten media controls, saying he wants to reform the voting system and develop a new constitution before returning to democracy.
He also told a recent meeting of Pacific island delegates that they need to “break the shackles” of their colonial past.
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