CHINA-SAMOA: INCOMING SAMOAN PRIME MINISTER PLEDGES TO CANCEL US$ 100 MILLION CHINESE-BACKED PORT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Fiame Naomi Mataafa, Samoa's opposition leader who is set to take over as Samoa's new prime minister has pledged to cancel a $100 million Chinese-backed port development, calling it excessive for the small Pacific island that is already heavily indebted to China. The proposed construction of the wharf in Vaiusu Bay has been a divisive issue in Samoa, playing a part in the April elections where long-serving leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi lost his parliamentary majority. Fiame Naomi Mataafa said she intended to maintain good relations with China but she had more pressing needs to address than the port project. She also said she would maintain good relations with the United States and its allies.
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