The Fijian Government will re-look at its policies with the People’s Republic of China, underlining the two countries security and defence policies in the region.
Highlighting this, Minister for Home Affairs Pio Tikoduadua said he has written to the Chinese Embassy in Suva, under the watchful eyes and discretion of the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Tikoduadua said the Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 2012 in China by Fiji and China had provisions that any of the two parties that wanted to review the MOU had six months to notify the other Party of their intentions.
He said this is not a big deal, nor is there any secrecy about Fiji’s intention to re-look at its foreign defence policies.
“The political intention of the People’s Coalition Government is to review Fiji’s defence association with all countries and not just China. We are a new Government, sworn-in and that there are things that we want to do differently and this is the Government’s prerogative.”
Tikoduadua said the Government is not terminating the MOU as reported on social media.
He has cautioned the People’s Republic of China to refer to the letter written by him as the line Minister.
“I have sort the discretion of the Prime Minister on what we have agreed… and if you read the last line on the letter, I wrote is for us to review our Oppositions going forward.”
