The Fijian prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has said a police exchange agreement with China is under review as his government considers whether to cancel it outright.
In 2011, Fiji’s government – a military dictatorship at the time – signed a memorandum of understanding enabling Fijian police officers to be trained in China. It also saw Chinese officers deployed to Fiji.
But since being voted into power in a general election six months ago, Rabuka’s coalition government has shown more scepticism about close ties with Beijing.
In January, he told local media that he saw “no need” for the police agreement with China to continue, but no firm decision was taken.
During a state visit to New Zealand on Wednesday, the Fijian premier indicated the agreement was on ice as deliberations continued.
“When we came in [to power], the thing I said was if our values and our systems differ, what cooperation can we get from them [China]?” he told reporters in Wellington.
“We need to look at that again before we decide on whether we go backward or continue the way we have had in the past – cooperating with those that have similar democratic values and systems of legislation, law enforcement and so on.”
Rabuka said that New Zealand and Fiji were poised to sign a defence agreement next week aimed at increasing cooperation between their military forces.
“The agreement will allow defence officials to undertake engagement in different areas including capacity building and upskilling, exposure to new technologies and technical support, among others.”
With Agence France-Presse
