Jamaica is one of China’s more avid supplicants, a fact not unrelated to the country’s dire economic condition and desperation for foreign investment. But even there some locals are perturbed by the government’s willingness to kowtow to Beijing.
A big Chinese project is planned for Goat Islands, two cays to the south of the Jamaican mainland. China Harbour Engineering Company, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company, plans to build a $1.5bn transshipment port and logistics hub there to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal.
However, Goat Islands is in the middle of the Portland Bight Protected Area: 1,900 sq km of mangroves, coastal swamps, cays and coral reefs. There is already some industrial activity and fishing in the area but the Jamaica Environment Trust fears the port project will destroy the habitat of 22 vulnerable species, such as the Jamaican iguana.