Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and his Solomon Islands counterpart Manassah Sogavare in Beijing in October 2019 Image: AP
As an unsuspecting American delegation leaves for the Solomon Islands, China announces that it has signed a security agreement with the archipelago. But Washington is not giving up.
The “Great Game” in the South Seas, which the United States and China are playing, recently had something of a race between the hare and the hedgehog. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin asked Wednesday whether the signing of the security agreement between Beijing and the Solomon Islands was brought forward to prevent the arrival of the American delegation to the eastern archipelago of New Guinea, replied evasively. He wanted to emphasize what he said the day before: security cooperation between the two countries is “open, transparent and comprehensive”. Furthermore, it is not intended for third parties. The agreement complements the existing security cooperation mechanisms that the Solomon Islands maintain bilaterally and multilaterally. Nothing to worry about, I mean.
Majid Sattar
Political correspondent for North America based in Washington.
The spokesman had already announced on Tuesday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Jeremiah Manele, the archipelago’s chief diplomat, had signed an intergovernmental framework agreement on security cooperation – “recently”. It is intended to promote “social stability” in the Solomon Islands and is mutually beneficial. He did not share details on how and when exactly the signing took place.