Vanuatu’s Opposition Leader has questioned the country’s closeness to China and demanded more scrutiny of what Beijing is “getting out of” the infrastructure loans and donations it is making to the Pacific nation.

Ishmael Kalsakau told Fairfax Media that while he didn’t know what was in Beijing’s mind, it would make strategic sense for the superpower to establish a permanent military presence in Vanuatu - as Fairfax Media reported this week China wants to do.

Mr Kalsakau, who heads the Union of Moderate Parties, said no Vanuatu government “in their right mind” would support a Chinese base.

Opposition Leader Ishmael Kalsakau at the Parliament of Vanuatu in Port Vila. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But he said he feared China was pursuing its strategic interests by showering Vanuatu with largesse and deepening its influence in the country.