Fiji lured by silver In diplomatic duel

By Beryl Cook

THE diplomatic duel between China and Taiwan turned into a row between Fiji and China last month.

Fiji’s Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kami sese Mara accused China of hypocrisy while China accused Taiwan of “silver bullet diplomacy” and warned Fiji against official links with Taiwan.

Ratu Mara, on a “private” visit to Taiwan, met government ministers in cluding Foreign Minister Fredrick Chien and Premier Plan Pei-Tsun. On August 5 he announced Fiji was willing to follow New Zealand, Vietnam and Australia to establish air links with Taipei.

China’s foreign ministry warned against official relations with Taiwan.

The embassy in Fiji condoned “unof ficial” or non-governmental economic and trade contacts but said air links to its “Taiwan province” should be dis cussed with the central government.

On August 6 Ratu Mara and Chien also signed a technological co-operation agreement to develop Fiji’s sugar indus try the highest-level official document ever signed by Taiwan and a country with which it has no diplomatic ties.

Ratu Mara has dismissed China’s complaints and its ‘one-China’ policy as “hypocrisy”. At the South Pacific Forum in Micronesia on July 29/30 he urged delegates to expand contact with Taiwan because of its economic strength, saying China itself traded with Taiwan through Hong Kong. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Huaqiu warned delegates against moves “aimed at creating two Chinas .-. . or an independent Taiwan”.

But the Forum later issued a com munique that it would hold a dialogue with Taiwan on economic co-operation.

China has accused Taiwan of “silver bullet diplomacy” using aid to buy diplomatic relations, but the temptation for developing nations to put hands up and hands out is great. Taiwan provides agricultural assistance, training, grants and loans to Tuvalu, Nauru, Tonga, and the Solomon tslands (it has diplomatic relations with all four and embassies in the latter two), Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and soon Papua New Guinea.

Specifics include: SUS 3.7 million for Solomons Agricultural Technical Mis sion, SUSS million for the Solomon Islands Central Hospital improvement first phase; fishing fees to American Samoa and Fiji with negotiations under way with New Caledonia; SFI million economic aid for Fiji annually, and a SF2 million soft loan to-the Fiji Government two years ago.

According to a Taiwan Trade Mission spokesman, Taiwan itself had developed only after receiving 51.5 billion in US

economic aid from 1951 to 1965, and it now wished to help others. It was interested in business relations, as per the »9-2 million in Fiji products it had . . , . J u r •, €<r , u • . imported last year He said China is s P endm « more (aid) money than us yet ' he >' "t afford it; they are borrowing [rom the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

China has given Fiji a SF7 million interest-free loan for a rural energy project covering two mini-hydro projects

and two electrical network projects, and a 5F9.3 million interest-free loan for an international conference centre near the new Parliament complex. It has given Kiribati SF 1.14 million in grants for technical assistance, goods and equip ment from 1985 to 1990, and a SF3.I million interest-free loan to extend the international airport runway. It gave PNG a SFI4 million interest-free loan for

the Waigania sporting complex for the

South Pacific Games, and Vanuatu a 5F7.3 million interest-free loan for its new Parliament complex, with payments to start after 10 years. □