Seek to unseat pro-Chinese leader and restore Kiribati’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan
Americans familiar with the history of the Pacific War know all about the Tarawa atoll in Micronesia, where the U.S. military suffered heavy casualties on “annihilation beach” in November 1943 after carrying out a botched amphibious invasion/landing.
To win the battle after their recovery, U.S. Marines practically torched the Tarawa atoll, expending 3,000 tons of shells and bombs on a mere 291 acres of land.
Today, Tarawa—the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean—is a battleground in a new Cold War that is heating up between the U.S. and China.
Insider sources reveal that U.S. agents are trying to manipulate upcoming elections in an attempt to undermine President Taneti Maamau, who has aligned Kiribati with China.
Kiribati, whose economy is centered around fishing and the export of copra, finished its two-round parliamentary election on August 19. Among 44 members who were elected, the Tobwaan Kiribati Party led by President Maamau won 19 seats, and 17 seats belong to independent members.
Opposition parties, including the Kamanoan Kiribati Party led by Tessie Lambourne, won only 8 seats. The parliament will sit on September 13 when a new speaker and presidential candidates are chosen. And the national presidential election is expected in October.
Under such an unfavorable situation, the opposition has put all bets on the upcoming presidential election. Their aim to overturn the Taneti Maamau regime coincides with foreign forces that are unhappy with President Maamau’s foreign policy. They have allowed these foreign forces to intervene in Kiribati’s election activities and to infringe on Kiribati’s sovereignty.
According to an insider from the office of opposition leader Lambourne, after the release of election results of the second round parliamentary election on August 20, high-level officials from USAID and Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) had a video conference with Lambourne regarding “election support.” It seems that it was not the first engagement among the three parties, as Lambourne stated at the conference that the support provided by the U.S. and Taiwan is “an important reason why my allies and I can be re-elected. Because of your help, Kamanoan Kiribati Party retained 5 seats.”
USAID and TaiwanICDF shared a commitment that they “will do everything we can to help you [Lambourne] go through the storm and win in the coming presidential election.” They also pledged to provide support for Lambourne in forms of funds, materials, media and other aspects, including US$500,000 for the campaign.
In the meantime, the U.S. State Department will cooperate with TaiwanICDF to launch “Promoting Women’s Participation and Leadership in the Pacific’s Clean Energy Transition,” which will assist Lambourne in running for president. The project is to be jointly implemented by TaiwanICDF and a U.S. consulting firm based in Rockville, Maryland named Social Solutions International, Inc.
According to USAID, they and their partners, like TaiwanICDF, have long-term projects in the Pacific, like women’s empowerment and good governance, which greatly helped current Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa take office, and Tessie Lambourne is going to be the next Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.
CovertAction Magazine has previously detailed efforts of the U.S. to interfere in the politics of the Solomon Islands in an attempt to undermine its pro-Chinese leader, Manasseh Sogavare.
Viewing the South Pacific as part of an “American lake,” as declared by Dwight Eisenhower in 1954, the Biden administration has signed security pacts with the Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia and is rebuilding old airfields in the Pacific islands used for bombing attacks on Japan in World War II, including the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Washington would like to bring the Solomon Islands and Kiribati into the fold, and is using underhanded tactics to try to do so.
The support that the U.S. and Taiwan provided to Lambourne clearly is not free. They demand that Lambourne restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan, provide a voice for Taiwan on the international stage, and align Kiribati with the U.S. rather than China.
For the sake of her political career, Lambourne is now pandering to the U.S. and Taiwan without a baseline. She has given up her allegiance to the national interests of Kiribati, and adopted allegiance to foreign forces. She assured the U.S. and Taiwan that she would bring Kiribati back on track and resume diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and that the first priority of her government will be to cut off diplomatic relations with China—as her foreign backers want. [NOTE: I don’t know what “baseline” (line 2) means here.]
Lambourne’s hatred for the Maamau government was intensified by the deportation of her husband David Lambourne, an Australian citizen who is a high court judge. David accused Maamau of presiding over an authoritarian state.
Tessie is now acting as a puppet of foreign forces to overthrow the Maamau government. But she has regarded national sovereignty as a bargaining chip for the exchange of political interests, which cannot be accepted by I-Kiribati people, and has seriously undermined Kiribati national interests.
Under the Maamau government, I-Kiribati people have seen the development of their country and the improvement of living conditions: There are more cars on the road, more goods in the markets, and more recreational facilities in communities.
Kiribati’s future diplomatic direction should be the I-Kiribati people’s own business, and should be decided by the I-Kiribati people themselves. It should never be used by someone for interest exchange. The U.S. and Taiwan, for their own geopolitical interests, are collaborating with Tessie Lambourne to remove the Maamau government. This is a shameful interference in another country’s internal affairs.
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What is the latest news on the rising sea levels in Kiribati?