TARAWA (Pacnews) — Kiribati’s Minister for Information Willie Tokataake has assured Parliament that the Chinese tracking station in Temwaiku is not being used for military purposes.
He was responding to a question raised by MP Kabetite Mwetaka from Tamana, who inquired about a story on Radio Kiribati praising the benefits of the station.
The story was broadcast after an interview with a Chinese delegation that visited Kiribati recently to renew the agreement on the operation of the tracking station.
Mwetaka said he is concerned the Radio Kiribati report may have been misleading and asked the Kiribati government to appoint a technical expert to investigate the station and report on what it is being used for.
Tokataake said that the government had already worked with one expert from abroad, who had visited the site and assured them that the station is not being used for military purposes.
The minister also told parliament that he had spoken with the U.S. ambassador in the Marshall Islands over the matter and was assured that the United States is not concerned about the station.
