Double life of China’s man in Suva could help Australia in the Pacific

Beijing’s use of Chinese nationals to further its ambitions in the Pacific has received a setback by the revelation that their man in Suva is mentioned in Australian spy agency documents as having links with organised crime and drug shipments.

Twelve months ago, our three-part series Red Alert identified China as far and away our most dangerous security threat, with an expert panel warning of the prospect of war with Beijing within three years. Then last June, in exclusive interviews with the Herald and 60 Minutes by Nick McKenzie, police chiefs belonging to the secretive Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group – comprising Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand – issued a damning critique of China’s covert plan to place organised criminals as agents of influence in Pacific island nations and corrupt local politicians.

Now, McKenzie and 60 Minutes have reported that Zhao Fugang, a Suva hotelier and property developer, has been named in federal security agency reports as a senior member of a crime network facilitating “large illicit drug shipments” to Australia at least since 2004 and providing a Fijian “safe hub” for drug shipments, on behalf of South American cartels and others. The report outlines suspicions that Zhao is involved with a regional crime network that “seeks to influence the environment to provide cover for Chinese organised crime” and that he is “well-connected to other Chinese organised crime leaders in the Pacific”. Zhao’s naming in the reports does not mean he is guilty of a crime, only that he is suspected of involvement in criminal activity. Regardless, it will create headaches for the Fijian government.

Fugang migrated to Fiji in 1998 and, according to one of his associates, quickly built a reputation as a man capable of helping Chinese businesses, officials, and tourists navigate the Pacific Island nation. In 2001, he launched a travel company and, in the following two decades, secured Fijian citizenship and built a business empire spanning the Yue Lai Hotel in Suva, a migration agency and a property development business.

China’s bold ambitions in Fiji prospered under the regime of Frank Bainimarama, after Australia responded to his 2006 coup with sanctions, and Beijing filled the vacuum. Chinese economic support for Fiji surged, with concessional loans and other aid funding transport and health projects. But the security high point in the Beijing-Suva relationship was the 2011 signing of a policing memorandum of understanding (MOU) – since suspended – that not only led to dozens of Fijian police training in China but Chinese authorities flying into Fiji in 2017 and rendering 77 Chinese nationals accused of cyberscams back to China, causing an outcry by entirely bypassing the Fijian legal system.

Policing is important in Pacific diplomacy. Beijing has been attempting to usurp Australia’s position as Fiji’s key policing partner for years. The MOU with Fiji appears to be the template used by Chinese police diplomacy and dealmaking in the region, including in PNG and the Solomons.

Australia historically enjoyed close relationships with island nations. But, Canberra relegated the Pacific to a second-order status, and the ongoing exposure of suspect payments and allegations of bribery in our offshore detention program has imperiled Australia’s position as a trusted influence.

Australia is scrambling to mend fences: the world-first climate refugee agreement that promises to keep Tuvaluans’ heads above water and building broader regional partnerships in the Pacific and South-East Asia, especially with the Philippines, are part of the pushback against China. Now, Australia’s Pacific credibility has received a massive boost courtesy of Beijing’s worrisome inability to pick a squeaky-clean candidate to do its dirty work in Fiji.

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