China military base 'not welcome'

Fiji says presence in Pacific 'not needed'

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Fiji is opposed to China setting up a military base in the Pacific Islands, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said yesterday, adding that it did not need such a base to project power, as shown by an intercontinental ballistic missile test.

Strategically placed between the United States and Asia, the Pacific Islands are a focus of rivalry between Washington and Beijing for security ties.

The islands were trying to cope with a big, powerful China seeking to spread its influence, Mr Rabuka told the National Press Club in the Australian capital, adding that Beijing understood he would lobby other Pacific leaders against such a base.