Suva, Fiji - China insisted that it has no ambitions or plans to establish a major military base in the South Pacific after Fiji's government warned against any such developments in the region.

China's embassy in Fiji insisted that Beijing is not seeking to establish a military base in the South Pacific, and confirmed that aid pledged to developing island nations came with "no political strings attached."

"There is no political strings attached to China's assistance, no imposing one's will onto others, and no empty promises," an embassy spokesperson said in a statement posted on social media on Thursday.

"The claims about 'China setting up a military base in the Pacific' are false narratives," the spokesperson said. "They are baseless and driven by ulterior motives."

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The comments come after Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka warned this week against any Chinese efforts to establish a military toehold in the strategically contested region.

"If they want to come, who would welcome them? Not Fiji," Rabuka said during an address in Australia. "And I think that China understands that well."

Beijing maintains a small presence in the Solomon Islands, located northwest of Fiji and northeast of Australia, where they signed a secretive deal in 2022.

Their presence has caused tension between other regional nations, notably Australia, which fears that China will use such a deal to establish a military presence in the South Pacific.

China insists that its presence in the region is purely aimed at delivering development aid. An embassy spokesperson said Beijing would never force Pacific island nations to "sacrifice their sovereignty."

"China's presence in the Pacific is focused on building roads and bridges to improve people's livelihoods, not on stationing troops or setting up military bases."