Tonga Prime Minister asks China to write off Pacific islands’ debt
Akalisi Pohiva warns that his country is not the only one in the region struggling to repay loans from Beijing
Tonga Prime Minister Akalisi Pohiva has called on China to write off the debts owed by Pacific island countries, warning that repayments impose a huge burden on the impoverished nations.
Chinese aid in the Pacific has ballooned in recent years with much of the funds coming in the form of loans from Beijing’s state-run Exim Bank.
Tonga has run-up enormous debts to China, estimated at more than US$100 million by Australia’s Lowy Institute think tank, and Pohiva said his country would struggle to repay them.
He said the situation was common in the Oceania region and needed to be addressed at next month’s Pacific Island Forum summit in Nauru.
“We need to discuss the issue,” he told the Samoa Observer in an interview published on Tuesday.
“All the Pacific Island countries should sign this submission asking the Chinese government to forgive their debts.