Australia, New Zealand and the United States have expressed concern about the security situation in the Pacific region after China signed an accord with the Solomon Islands that includes defense assistance.
The countries signed the pact this week, stoking fears that China may attempt to set up a naval base in the Pacific island nation.
The Solomons opposed recent efforts by Australia, the country’s biggest donor to the islands, to thwart the deal.
The country’s Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, argued that the new treaty “would not harm the peace and harmony in the region”. The Solomon Islands leader added that the deal does not target its traditional allies, but “our own internal security situation.”
He did not reveal the terms of the pact but said it was signed “with open eyes and guided by our national interests”.
Chinese warships and troops
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta expressed disappointment with the deal.
The pact was unveiled just days before U.S. Undersecretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell’s visit to the Solomon Islands for highlevel talks.
These talks are likely related to US security concerns over China’s increasing military presence in the region. The US has announced that it will reopen its embassy in the Solomon Islands, which has been closed since 1993.
According to a leaked draft of the deal reviewed by the Australian government, the deal provides that Chinese warships can dock in the islands and that Beijing can send security forces “to help maintain social order.”
In recent years, there has been a great deal of social unrest in the Solomon Islands.
In November, the Australian government dispatched security agents to help quell unrest in the capital, Honiara, after protesters stormed Parliament to overthrow Sogavare. The violence claimed lives.
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry confirmed Tuesday that the final pact retained provisions on “maintaining social order.”
2 of 2 Chinese President Xi Jinping; China’s Solomon Islands deal worries US and other countries Photo: Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping; China’s Solomon Islands deal worries US and other countries Photo: Getty Images
The ‘worst failure of Australia’s foreign policy’
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Pacific Minister Zed Seselja said the deal was “deeply disappointing” and they were “concerned at the lack of transparency with which this deal was developed”.
“Our unchanging view, even from the perspective of Australia’s national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the region’s security needs,” they said in a statement.
Australia’s opposition said the ChinaSolomon Islands deal was “Australia’s worst foreign policy failure in the Pacific” in 80 years.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is currently campaigning for reelection partly on national security concerns denied the deal was a sign his government had made a mistake in diplomatic relations with the Solomon Islands.
He says he “can’t go around telling the leaders of the Pacific Islands what to do and what not to do.”
However, Morrison said his country would not have a “servile relationship” with China, which had made “all sorts of promises” to the Pacific Rim states.
“We have always defended our position against China because it is in our best interest,” Morrison told reporters on Wednesday.
The New Zealand foreign minister said her country was “sad” about the pact the Solomon Islands signed with China.
The Solomon Islands announced early last month that they were working on a security agreement with China.
This was of particular concern to Australia, which is only 2,000 km south of the Solomon Islands.