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Although the reefs were not discovered by Tonga, they were the nation to establish their control over the reefs after the failed Republic of Minerva. The Tongan military raised the flag of Tonga on both reefs on the 21st June 1972, and this claim was ratified by the South Pacific Forum (now the Pacific Islands Forum), of which Fiji was a part of, later that year. Tonga has consistently protected this claim like in 1982, when a bunch of Americans tried to recontrol the reefs.
It was only in 2005, that Fiji declared this was an illegitimate claim, and played a petty conflict with Tonga later in 2010, destroying their military equipment on the islands. This conflict resurfaced earlier this year, where Fiji asserted a claim, only backed up by the Ono-i-Lau's historic fishing grounds.
Fiji's claim is clearly nationalism at its core, using a small piece of evidence as a way to illegitimate a claim they were silent about for decades. It seems Bainimarama, is using this conflict for political gain, for rally around the flag effect points. Gregor the Beggar, long time ally of Bainimarama, clearly wants to keep the Prime Minister, who halted democracy on the islands for eight years, to stay in power and so backs the Fijian claim, and supports a conflict on the reefs.
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