Kiribati’s pro-China government faces test as election begins

Climate change, living costs and China ties in focus as president Taneti Maamau seeks to extend his tenure in the Pacific country

Polls opened in the Pacific country of Kiribati on Wednesday, after an election campaign dominated by the cost of living, rising sea levels and questions about the benefit of deeper ties with China.

A nation of 115,000 residents, Kiribati is considered strategic despite being small, because it is relatively close to Hawaii and controls more than 3.5 million sq km (1.4m sq miles) of Pacific Ocean.