Page 10 - November 2021 IB FINAL

Whispers Whispers

To defect or not? though it has ignored media reports that fishery subsidies recently. In a media
Are we going to see another high pro- mainland China is funding the switch. briefing over the state of play in current
file diplomatic switch of recognition to China was also behind the expensive negotiations at WTO headquarters in
mainland China by one of the dwindling purchase of two narrow-bodied jet Geneva, Ambassador Mere Falemaka,
supporters of the Republic of China in Embraer aircraft for Air Kiribati, al- Permanent Representative of the Pacific
the islands quite soon? Rumours started though only one of the aircraft has been Islands Forum to the WTO spoke of the
making the rounds late October about bought and still holed up in a hangar in difference in the language and the level
possible recognition of mainland China Australia. This comes as the government of information that her office circulates
and not Taiwan when an executive jet of President Taneti Maamau lost a high among members of the Pacific Island
flew into Funafuti to pick up ‘precious profile case in court, when his govern- Forum, given that Australia and New
cargo,’ Tuvalu’s Finance Minister Seve ment’s decision to ban the return of Zealand who are also Forum members,
Paeniu. Accompanied by Mrs Paeniu, the one of its high court judges to Kiribati sit on the other side of the negotiating
senior minister in Prime Minister Kausea was declared unconstitutional. Not so table in Geneva. “This is something that
Natano’s cabinet flew to an unspecified well known was the near cancellation is difficult to bring to the Forum table
province in mainland China for a meet- of a local media training in Tarawa because of the differences among our
ing with yet to be revealed Chinese gov- because the government was particu- members. The papers that go to our
ernment officials, before they then flew larly displeased, or so it was rumoured, ministers are usually very general in
onto Glasgow, Scotland for this month’s over the local trainer, who happened to terms of describing the state of play,
COP26. Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon be the former media adviser of former and they are not about agreeing on cer-
Kofe has confirmed the private jet President Tong. tain positions, because of the different
pickup. While skirting questions about camps that we have.”
the possibility of diplomatic recognition Meanwhile the ball is now in the
of China, he pointed out that the plane Kiribati government’s court after the Forest for the trees
was taking home Chinese workers who chief justice ruled that continued moves A Papua New Guinea delegate to the
had been working on ADB-funded proj- to block a judge from returning to the COP26 climate conference reportedly
ects in Tuvalu, and “Minister Seve and country were unconstitutional. The caused some waves in the closing hours
his delegation seized the opportunity judge, David Lambourne—who is mar- of the negotiations in Glasgow, the Cli-
to travel” on the aircraft. Be that as ried to Kiribati’s opposition leader—has mate Home website has reported. New
it may, that chartered flight has surely been unable to return to Kiribati since York-based Kevin Conrad, who sits on
heightened anxiety in Taipei, which lost leaving for a conference in February the PNG team and is the founder of an
two important allies in Solomon Islands 2020. For 21 months he has been trying NGO called the Coalition for Rainforest
and Kiribati to Beijing not too long ago. to get back, but has been denied seats Nations (CfRN), argued that UN forestry
Kofe himself has been a strong advocate on repatriation flights. Lambourne was projects, under a scheme known as
for Taiwan, having been invited there first appointed to the bench in 2018 Redd+, should be automatically includ-
as a guest of the Taiwanese President for a term of unspecified duration. ed in the UN carbon market framework.
days after his appointment as foreign This month Chief justice William Hast- When the US sought to delete text
minister in 2019. ings ruled that Lambourne had been relating to Redd+, there was a flurry of
appointed for life, and ordered immi- last-minute negotiations. When the final
Challenges in Kiribati gration authorities to facilitate Lam- text came down, Conrad was left disap-
The small island nation may well bourne’s return to the country. However pointed, later tweeting: “A very disap-
learn a lesson or two on life after ROC the attorney general’s department says pointing final day at #COP26. Rainforest
if only it casts an eye to its most im- they’re looking to either take the mat- nations go home empty handed. It was
mediate northern neighbour, which has ter to the court of appeal, or change not an inclusive process. Our interests
been making the news for all the wrong the constitution. were removed from #Article6 over night
reasons. First was the abrupt confirma- without consultation.” However there
tion that it is revoking 408,000 sq km Navigating the ‘vuvale’ are concerns about the rigour around
of marine park of the Phoenix Island Journalists got a rare insight on how Conrad’s plan to sell carbon credits
Protected Area (PIPA) because it had not papers shuffle between island capitals generated from Papua New Guinea’s
realised the projected returns it was and negotiating positions are disclosed forests, and in particular whether Free,
promised. The Kiribati Government says during tense negotiations on the world Prior and Informed Consent processes
it is now adopting an MSP approach, stage from one of the Pacific’s lead will be followed with landholders.
short for marine spatial planning, al- negotiators at the WTO negotiations on

10 Islands Business, November 2021