CANBERRA, April 13 (Prensa Latina) Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, arrived in the Solomon Islands today to avoid a military deal between the South Pacific island nation and China.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Seselja’s visit on Wednesday with the basic mission of vetoing a security pact with the Asian giant
Australian Intelligence Chief Paul Symon and Office of National Intelligence Director General Andrew Shearer have been meeting with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare since the beginning of the month.
The Solomon Islands government has said it will not allow China to set up a military base there and Beijing has denied seeking a military base in the South Pacific, but Australia appears unsure.
Canberra has a bilateral security pact with the Solomon Islands, and Australian Police peacekeepers were in the capital, Honiara, during last November’s unrest.
In this sense, Morrison assured that he had communicated respectfully and directly with the small archipelago and denounced that those who claim that it is under Australian control would insult him.
I respect their independence and they will make their own decisions about their own sovereignty. What we have done is ensure they are fully aware of the risks that are relevant not only to Australia but to the Pacific as a whole, he added.
For his part, Seselja admitted that he had urged Sogavare to abandon the agreement with China.
We welcome Sogavare’s recent statements that Australia remains its security partner and its pledge that the Solomon Islands will never be used for military bases or other institutions, he said.
The issue will become relevant ahead of Australia’s elections on May 21, when the opposition said the Solomon Islands government had failed.
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