China has made plans to upgrade an airstrip and bridge on a local island to restore a base where military aircraft were stationed during World War II, Reuters revealed on May 5, citing lawmakers associated with the Pacific island nation of Kiribati. The island is located about 3,000 kilometers southwest of Hawaii.
The plan, which has not been made public, involves construction related to the coral atoll of Canton Island, which is strategically located between Asia and the Americas, the report said.
Kiribati opposition lawmaker Tracey Lambourne told Reuters that the government has not shared costs and other details beyond a feasibility study for runway and bridge repairs. The MPs are concerned about the project and want to know if it is part of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
So far, neither the Kiribati president’s office nor the Chinese Foreign Ministry has responded to media inquiries on the matter.
Kiribati is known to control one of the world’s largest exclusive economic waters, covering more than 3.5 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, despite a population of 120,000. And with Canton Island located 3,000 kilometers southwest of the U.S. military base in Hawaii, any major facility on Canton Island would provide China with a stronghold deep into an area that has maintained strong ties with the United States and its allies since World War II.
In September 2019, pro-China Kiribati President Mamau decided to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and instead establish diplomatic relations with China. A government adviser, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the project, said the construction project would turn Canton Island “into a maritime aircraft carrier.
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