China defends security offer to Tonga for Pacific summit

China said Friday it is offering security assistance to Tonga for a Pacific islands summit, but swatted away concerns about its ambitions in the hotly contested region.

Tonga, a Pacific kingdom of fewer than 110,000 people, says it needs help to host the August 26 annual meeting of the 26-member Pacific Island Forum.

But China's overture comes at a time of heightened concern among Western allies over its growing sway in the South Pacific -- particularly in security.

China notably signed a secretive security pact with Solomon Islands in 2022, sparking fears it could one day use the island to gain a strategic military toehold in the region despite assurances from Beijing and Honiara.

Beijing has offered 20 motorcycles and "motorcade training" to help Tonga's police handle the summit, the Chinese embassy in Tonga confirmed in a statement to AFP.

"China has no interest in geopolitical competition or seeking the so-called 'sphere of influence'," it said.

Beijing "fully respects" Pacific island states' sovereignty and independence, the embassy said, adding that it was happy to work with other countries that want to help.

Beijing already has agreements to train police in Solomon Islands and Fiji.

At Tonga's invitation a Chinese delegation visited the island state last week, it said, meeting with the prime minister and other government members in the capital Nuku'alofa.

China is meanwhile "trying its utmost" to speed up construction of a school stadium that will serve as the summit venue, the embassy said.

- 'Not an issue for us' -

Tonga police commissioner Shane McLennan said the kingdom was still considering China's offer to supply motorcycles and other vehicles to help secure the summit.

"Our current capabilities, with motor vehicle fleet protection and security operations, are very much underdone. We need significant assistance," he told AFP.

Australia was also considering security help for Tonga but had yet to make an offer, McLennan said.

Tonga Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has welcomed China's support.

There was "no reason to be concerned" by the offer, he said last week. "It is nothing new. We have always worked with China and other countries as well."

Australia's Pacific affairs minister, Pat Conroy, has insisted China should have "no role" in policing the region's island states.

"Pacific countries should look to the Pacific first for any gaps in security," he said last month.

But the Pacific Island Forum's secretary general, Henry Puna, has played down concerns over China's role.

"It's not an issue for us in the Pacific," Puna told reporters this week in Nuku'alofa.

"Let's not be allowed by outsiders to change our thinking and be involved in these geopolitical games."