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US cautions after Hawaii neighbor Kiribati gets Chinese police

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US cautions after Hawaii neighbor Kiribati gets Chinese police


Lagoons can be seen from a plane as it flies above Kiritimati Island, part of the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, April 5, 2016. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

WASHINGTON/SYDNEY — The United States on Monday cautioned Pacific Islands nations against assistance from Chinese security forces after Reuters reported that Chinese police are working in the remote atoll nation of Kiribati, a neighbor of Hawaii.

Kiribati’s acting police commissioner, Eeri Aritiera, told Reuters last week uniformed Chinese officers were working with police in community policing and a crime database program.

Kiribati is a nation of 115,000 people whose closest island is 2,160 km (1,340 miles) south of Honolulu, and the news comes as Beijing renews a push to expand security ties in the Pacific Islands in an intensifying rivalry with the United States.

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READ: Amid rising sea levels, Kiribati hopes to remain an island nation

Asked to comment on the Reuters report, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department responded using the People’s Republic of China abbreviation: “We do not believe importing security forces from the PRC will help any Pacific Island country.  Instead, doing so risks fueling regional and international tensions.”

The official added that Washington did not tolerate China’s “transnational repression efforts,” including its attempts to establish police stations around the world.

“We are concerned about the potential implications security agreements and security-related cyber cooperation with the PRC may have for any Pacific Island nation’s autonomy,” the spokesperson said.

READ: Kiribati focuses on trade, not security, for China visit to remote Pacific island

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Kiribati is considered strategic not only given its relative proximity to Hawaii but also because it has one of the world’s biggest exclusive economic zones, covering more than 3.5 million square km (1.35 million square miles) of the Pacific.

It hosts a Japanese satellite tracking station and China has announced plans to rebuild a World War Two U.S. military airstrip on Kiribati’s Kanton Island, prompting U.S. concern.

The United States countered with a pledge in October to upgrade the wharf on Kanton Island, a former U.S. military base. It said it wants to open an embassy in Kiribati.

China has not responded to a Reuters request for comment on the role of its police, but in a January social media post, its embassy named the head of the “Chinese police station in Kiribati.”

Kiribati’s acting police commissioner, Aritiera, said Kiribati had requested China’s policing assistance in 2022, but there was no Chinese police station. Up to a dozen uniformed Chinese police arrived on a six-month rotation last year.

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A Chinese embassy source confirmed the uniformed officers were working in Kiribati but also said China had not established a police station.

China’s efforts to strike a region-wide security and trade deal in the region, where it is a major infrastructure lender, were rejected by the Pacific Islands Forum in 2022.

However, Chinese police have been deployed in the Solomon Islands since 2022 after a secret security pact criticized by Washington and Canberra as undermining regional stability.



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Papua New Guinea, the biggest Pacific Island nation, said this month it would not accept a Chinese offer of police assistance and surveillance technology, after news it was negotiating a policing deal with China prompted criticism from the United States and Australia.





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Hawaii Island asks for the public’s assistance finding elderly woman, Jacquelyn Glenn

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Hawaii Island asks for the public’s assistance finding elderly woman, Jacquelyn Glenn


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Island police are renewing their request for the public’s assistance in locating 82-year-old Jacquelyn Glenn of Kailua-Kona, who was reported missing by her family.

Police said she is considered endangered due to her age.

Glenn was last seen on Friday, Dec. 5, around 6:37 a.m., on the 75-200 block of Nani Kailua Dr. in Kailua-Kona.

She was wearing a peach-colored shirt, blue denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. She reportedly mentioned going to Hilo with friends, but did not say when she planned to return.

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She is described as 5′6″, 125 Ibs, with curly grey hair and brown eyes.

Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jacquelyn Glenn to call the Hawaii Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.



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Hawaii gets nearly $190 million for rural health care | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hawaii gets nearly 0 million for rural health care | Honolulu Star-Advertiser




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Hawaiian announces $600 million airport, wide-body upgrades | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hawaiian announces 0 million airport, wide-body upgrades | Honolulu Star-Advertiser


COURTESY HAWAIIAN AIRLINES

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Hawaiian Airlines today announced an investment of more than $600 million over five years to improve airport passenger areas across the state and interior upgrades to widebody aircraft.

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Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser ahead of today’s announcement at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport that other improvements will include better apps, a better website that will make it easier for passengers to change flights, among other things that also include better integration with Alaska Airlines, which acquired Hawaiian in 2024, making it a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group.

“We have pushed a lot of change through the system for the last couple of months,” Rakow said. “We’re working on integrating our ticketing systems because right now we’re on two separate ticketing systems that don’t talk to each other.”

After late April, she said, booking on the shared Alaska Air and Hawaiian Air ticketing system “will be much more seamless.”

In announcing the renovations and changes, Hawaiian pledged “a significantly smoother guest experience … once Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines share the same passenger service system and Hawaiian Airlines joins the oneworld alliance, both scheduled for late April.”

Right now, Rakow acknowledged, “unfortunately there is some friction.”

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“There’s been so many changes and all of that friction is really painful,” she said. “We are committed to making sure we are addressing the issues. … We are certainly not perfect, but we are committed to working together. … Really, after April, it is going to improve significantly.”

Each island airport also will see renovated lobbies and gates designed to increase comfort, provide better seating and amenities such as improved power charging.

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Daniel K. Inouye International also will get a new 10,600-square-foot lounge at the entrance of the Mauka Concourse in Terminal 1.

And starting in 2028, Hawaiian’s wide-body Airbus A330s will get new seats, carpets, lighting, business class suites, a Bluetooth-enabled in-flight entertainment system with high-definition screens and free Starlink Wi-Fi.

Gov. Josh Green said in a statement ahead of today’s announcement that, “Hawaiian Airlines’ investment is exactly the kind of long-term commitment Hawaiʻi needs. Modern, welcoming airports improve the experience for residents and visitors alike, strengthen our economy and keep Hawaiʻi competitive as a global destination. We appreciate Hawaiian Airlines’ partnership in advancing workforce development, regenerative tourism, clean energy, and community programs that reflect the values of our islands.”

The New Year began with a .75% increase in Hawaii’s Transient Accommodations Tax that will help the state fight climate change.

Rakow said that Hawaiian is working to better inform inbound passengers about how to respect Hawaii’s culture and environment.

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Hawaiian said it will continue to support “programs promoting regenerative tourism, culture and conservation.”

The airline also said it will fund grants to nonprofit organizations “promoting cultural programs, environmental preservation, and perpetuation of native Hawaiian art and language through the Alaska Airlines | Hawaiian Airlines Foundation.”




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