Fiji, May 2 -- A research fellow warns that China will not take a haircut on Tonga's debt after Beijing took to Facebook to defend its lending practices.

Riley Duke from the Lowy Institute's Pacific Aid Map unit highlights China's firm stance amid rising concerns about Tonga's substantial debt burden.

"We see that in Tonga, as well as other parts of the world," Duke says. "So the focus is on who signed the deal, and accountability for that is a debate about people who were leaving Tonga almost two decades ago. The focus really needs to be on the repayments."

Tonga currently owes US$190 million in external debt, two-thirds of which is owed to China following loans taken to rebuild Nuku'alofa after the devastating riots in 2006.

Duke, w...