Fiji/Tonga: Letter on the Minerva Reef issue

Fiji/Tonga: Letter on the Minerva Reef issue: Pacific Diplomacy II

20 June, 2011

Dear Editor,

It is always refreshing after we sat down to reflect what have been developing after my first letter titled the Pacific Diplomacy. Much water has gone under proverbial bridge and the called for the Pacific Way may be too late too little. So what have prompted me to write a follow up to my initial letter? Tonga has broken their silence and has replied to Fiji on the issue of Minerva.

The rescue of Col. David Mara from Fiji water first of all demonstrated to Fiji that Tonga will use force to protect its sovereignty over Minerva aka Teleki Tonga & Teleki Tokelau, and Tonga is quiet capable of protecting its own territory. The Tongan Official stand on the Minerva is:

a. Tonga claims Minerva in 1972 to deny foreigners (US Corporations) from establishing a new republic in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean.

b. Tongan claims of Minerva was submitted to the Pacific Island Forum and it was recognized by the Pacific Island Forum of 1972 with no protest from any other island states including Fiji.

c. Fiji is under an illegal government and Tonga will not negotiated with an illegal Government

d. Tonga will in good time file their own claim to the UN under the Law of the Sea and have historical ties to Minerva prior to the Law of the Sea was signed in 1982.

e. Law of the Sea or UNCLOS was only signed in 1982 and became effective in 1994. UNCLOS was never intended to strip or taken territory of a state.

f. Fiji should read and taken into heart the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Preamble which stated that:

Believing that the codification and progressive development of the law of the sea achieved in this Convention will contribute to the strengthening of peace, security, cooperation and friendly relations among all nations in conformity with the principles of justice and equal rights and will promote the economic and social advancement of all peoples of the world, in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations as set forth in the Charter,

g. Law of the Sea is about Peace and Security. Fiji deploying of it Navy to destroy Safety Beacons within Tonga Sovereign Territory was like declaring war on your neighbors and a serious breach of sovereignty.

h. The first voice Fiji utter about Minerva was after Rabuka coup of 1987 and now Frank Banimarama in around 2010. Tonga have been securing, developing and laying to rest Cemetry) some of their people in Minerva since 1972.

i. Ono I Lau (a Fijian island), is within Tongan EEZ, and the people of Ono is more Tongan and Polynesian then Fijian Melanesian. Tonga will not claim Ono as it belong to Fiji before UNCLOS was passed and it will be ridiculous to claim Ono just because it located within the EZZ. If the Fijian logic in International Law is follow by the world and there will be wars all over the world since country will claim and counter claim territories when their EEZ overlap.

j. Minerva has been recognized by international organization as under the Tongan sovereignty since 1972 as shown by the two maps from International Atlas contrary to some Fijian claims of recognition.

k. Fiji illegal government willingness to talk about the claim of Minerva should not be recognized by Tonga, unless Fiji return to democracy and elected a legitimate government and the mean time Tonga have submitted their territorial and EEZ claims to the UN.

So for the Kingdom of Tonga, this issue is about Fiji invading and breaching the sovereignty of Tonga. Tonga will host Col David Mara and will support the people of Fiji to depose of this dangerous and illegal junta in Fiji. The Fiji junta is not only dangerous to the people of Fiji but to the Pacific region. That is why Tonga is making a stand now or forever die in shame and I hope the Fijian learn from their own history as in the Battle of Kaba. “Only a fool will stand and fight with a Tongan”.

Loloma and ‘Ofa atu

Sione Taufatahi

USA

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