BEIJING, Jan. 6, 2020 -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with Kiribati's President Taneti Mamau at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 6, 2020. 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. "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. The United States countered with a pledge in October to upgrade the wharf on Kanton island, a former U.S. military base, and said it wants to open an embassy in Kiribati.

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Persons: Li Keqiang, Taneti Mamau, Eeri Aritiera Organizations: of, People, Monday, Pacific, Reuters, U.S . State Department, world's, United Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, United States, Kiribati, Hawaii, Honolulu, People's Republic of China, Washington, Kanton, U.S