SYDNEY, Australia — Australia and New Zealand said Tuesday they were closely monitoring developments while downplaying a report that China wants to establish a permanent military base on the Pacific nation of Vanuatu. China has been aggressively growing its military and pushing its footprint deeper into the Pacific, forging closer links by showering nations with development money. While China has been investing in infrastructure around the world, to date it has only established one military base — in Djibouti in northern Africa. During the spat, Australia’s International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said the Pacific was “full of these useless buildings which nobody maintains”, built by China. “We don’t know what the consequences are when (Pacific nations) have to pay back some of these Chinese loans,” she said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer April 10, 2018 04:41 UTC