Tonga Says Discussed Debt With China ForMin, Australia’s Wong To Visit

SYDNEY, June 1 (Reuters) – Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong will travel to the remote Pacific island of Tonga on Friday, days after her Chinese counterpart visited and discussed Tonga’s heavy debts to Beijing, Tonga’s government said.

Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni briefed local reporters on the visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the capital Nuku’alofa on Wednesday, saying six agreements had been signed.

He confirmed discussions were held with Wang about Tonga’s loans from China, a statement issued by the prime minister’s office said.

Tonga, which was hit by a volcanic eruption and tsunami in January, owes two-thirds of its external debt of $195 million to China’s Export-Import Bank, its budget shows.

Australia and New Zealand are its biggest donor nations, the budget also shows.

The prime minister also confirmed that Australia’s new Foreign Minister Penny Wong will be in Nuku’alofa on Friday on her first official visit to the Kingdom.

Wong’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China’s Wang on Tuesday signed agreements in Tonga for police laboratory equipment, disaster response and fisheries cooperation.

He arrived in Vanuatu on Wednesday morning, on a tour through the Pacific islands region where Beijing’s ambitions for wider regional security ties has caused concern among U.S. allies.

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