Samoa’s Agriculture Minister confirmed that discussions were under way with China to bankroll the redevelopment and expansion of the Asau Port, which alread­y boasts a concrete wharf and is sited next to an airstrip on Savai’i, the nation’s largest island.

A Chinese hydrographic surveyor was discreetly brought in earlier this year to map the port, which is unable to be used by large vessels because of coral and sediment choking the access channel, The Australian learned.

China’s involvement has raised red flags with military analyst­s, who warned that the port could lead to a land mass “right through the heart” of America’s defences in the South Pacific or threaten Australia’s east-coast trade routes to the US.

The port, originally developed for timber exports on the island in the 1960s, has been described as “well-protected from the east and south by the island itself and from the north and west by fringing coral reefs”, according to a New Zealand survey done last year.

Due to the blockages and the shallow channel, the harbour is currently only used by recrea­tion­al and charter fishing boats and for the occasional visit by the Australian-supplied Samoan pat­rol boat the Nafanua.

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi revealed the port’s redevelopment in April, saying “funding has been secured” to clear the channel, but he did not specify the source of the money.

But Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Lopaoo Natanielu Mua confirmed to The Australian that discussions were under way with the Chinese about funding the port. He declined to answer furthe­r questions about specifics.

Read more at The Australian