Reuters and AP, BEIJINGChina yesterday said it hoped to expand newly restored ties with the Pacific state of Kiribati, site of a strategic, but mothballed Chinese space tracking station, in comments that might further stoke US anxiety about Beijing’s growing influence. Speaking to reporters after the Xi-Maamau meeting, the diplomat, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs Director Lu Kang (陸慷), did not respond directly to a question about whether Beijing planned to reopen the space tracking station. China’s space program is overseen by the military, which has so far declined to comment on the Kiribati facility. Kiribati had established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 2003, prompting a break with Beijing. Up until then, China had operated a space tracking station in Kiribati, which played a role in tracking China’s first crewed space flight and is in a part of the world where the US tests missiles and other military hardware.

Source: Taipei Times January 06, 2020 16:30 UTC