By MARY-LOUISE O'CALLAGHAN
Like any menage a trois, no one really believed it could last. So it was not exactly a bombshell last week when the People's Republic of China finally severed ties with the tiny atoll nation of Kiribati.
This ended three weeks of unique dual recognition by Kiribati of Beijing
and Taipei - whose flags were briefly both flying from the same shore.
More puzzling was why the new Government in Kiribati's capital, Tarawa, decided after 23 harmonious years of diplomatic relations with Mainland China to recognise Taiwan.
The short answer is money, but how much and for whom are the burning questions in Kiribati.
These questions go to the heart of the all-too-familiar dilemmas facing most of the Pacific's smaller island neighbours: how to build a prosperous nation when all you have is a minuscule local market, limited economic opportunities, weak systems of governance and the constant shadow of corruption to pit against your people's rising expectations.
In the case of Kiribati, independent since 1979, this dilemma seems almost insurmountable. It is so isolated and lacking basic infrastructure that it was rejected as a possible venue for the detention of would-be refugees last year after offering to participate in Australian Prime Minister John Howard's controversial Pacific Solution.
And for three weeks, this micro-state of 95,000 people, which barely manages to exist above sea level, has been at the centre of one of the most enduring games of international brinkmanship: between the two Chinas, who for nearly half a century have been vying for recognition from the international community.
For years, China has been slogging it out with Taiwan. What made the Kiribati case so bizarre was the reluctance of China to up stakes and leave when the recently elected government of President Anote Tong announced on November 7 that it would henceforth be also recognising Taipei.
Dallying is not Beijing's usual way of playing the One China card. In 1998, when the neighbouring Marshall Islands made the same move, they packed up and left within days, taking their investments and aid with them.
But Tarawa was different, being the nearest foreign point to the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands, where the US has possibly the world's largest military base for testing its son-of-star-wars missile systems. Since 1996, China has been paying Kiribati US$250,000 ($387,600) a year to place its sole satellite tracking station at the southern end of Tarawa to allegedly spy on Kwajalein, 1000km away.
Unlike distant neighbour Nauru, the I-Kiribati, as they are known, did not squander royalties from pre-independence phosphate mining, but carefully managed a trust fund set up by the British with these proceeds. But they still do not have cash to splash, or many options for economic expansion.
Enter Taipei, only recognised by about 30 countries at the United Nations. It has become a voracious and somewhat successful recruiter in the Pacific in recent years where the Marshalls, Tuvalu, Palau and Solomon Islands now all accord it recognition.
Kiribati's first president, Ieremia Tabai, believes Tong found the Taiwanese offer of $11.3 million a year for four years too good to refuse.
He told the Herald the Government could now implement its policies, including expanding free education through to the end of secondary school.
The Opposition is less convinced and has tried unsuccessfully to establish a commission of inquiry into the switch as rumours have swirled that Tong's Boutokan te Koaua - Standing for the Truth - party may have received Taiwanese-sourced donations for its election campaign.
Tong, himself of part-Chinese ancestry, has defended the recognition, saying his guiding principle was to consider what was best for the people of Kiribati, and Taiwan had simply offered much more money.
"They [China] tell us we cannot have a relationship with them and Taiwan. Our conclusion is that a change will bring more benefits and prosperity - not to China or Taiwan - but to our people."
Washington clearly agrees. It has upgraded its link with Tarawa, shifting accreditation of its ambassador to the more senior embassy in Suva.
Strategic Kiribati
Kiribati's capital, Tarawa, is the nearest foreign port to Kwajalein atoll in the US Marshall Islands
Kwajalein is thought to be the world's biggest military base testing son-of-star wars missile systems
China has a satellite tracking station on Tarawa, to allegedly spy on the US
By MARY-LOUISE O'CALLAGHAN
Like any menage a trois, no one really believed it could last. So it was not exactly a bombshell last week when the People's Republic of China finally severed ties with the tiny atoll nation of Kiribati.
This ended three weeks of unique dual recognition by Kiribati of Beijing
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