Australia concerned as China concludes security pact with Solomon Islands

Australia concerned as China concludes security pact with Solomon Islands

According to the draft security agreement circulating on social media, it would allow China to “protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects” in the Pacific, less than 2,000km off Australia’s coast

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Friday, March 25, 2022, 03:22 PM IST
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Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, left, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Oct. 9, 2019 | AP

The government of the Solomon Islands announced on Thursday it had signed a policing deal with China and would send a proposal for a broader security agreement to the cabinet for consideration.

According to the draft security agreement circulating on social media, it would allow China to “protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects” in the Pacific, less than 2,000km off Australia’s coast.

The ABC and Reuters report they have verified the draft document as genuine.

Australia has long been concerned over Beijing's growing influence in the Pacific, its nearest neighbours.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the apparent plans "one of the most significant security developments we have seen in decades" and "adverse to Australia's national security interests".

On Friday, Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton denied a suggestion his country had "dropped the ball" in the region.

"We would be concerned, clearly, about any military base being established and we would express that to the Solomon Islands government," he told the local Nine Network.

Without directly addressing the content of the draft agreement, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement saying “We would be concerned by any actions that destabilize the security of our region.”

The department said that after riots last year in the Solomon Islands’ capital, Honiara, Australia and its neighbors had been able to send security assistance “without the need for external support.”

“Pacific Island nations have the right to make sovereign decisions,” the department said. “Australia’s cooperation with our Pacific family is focused on the economic prosperity, security and development of our region.”

New Zealand said it planned to raise its concerns about the document with both the Solomon Islands and China.

“If genuine, this agreement would be very concerning,” Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said. “Such agreements will always be the right of any sovereign country to enter into; however, developments within this purported agreement could destabilize the current institutions and arrangements that have long underpinned the Pacific region’s security.”

Questioned about the agreement, China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing and the Solomons “conducted normal law enforcement and security cooperation on the basis of equal treatment and win-win cooperation.”

“This is in line with the international law and international practice, conducive to maintaining social order in the Solomon Islands and promoting peace and stability in the region, and helpful to enhance common interests of China and the Solomon Islands, as well as all countries in the region,” ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing on Friday.

Wang referenced China’s previous support for the Solomons in handling riots and “maintaining stability,” but did not cite the agreement directly.

Referring to Australia, he said China hoped “the relevant party will see this objectively and calmly, and refrain from overinterpreting it.”

Recently, a contingent of Chinese police officers was deployed to the Solomon Islands to work with local authorities after last year's deadly anti-government riots, the Daily Mail reported.

Australia’s minister for home affairs, Karen Andrews, told reporters on Thursday the Pacific was Australia’s “backyard”, when asked about the possibility of the Chinese military operating in the Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands, home to about 700,000 people, in 2019 switched its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing, which was a contributing factor to last year’s riots.

Last month the U.S. announced plans to open an embassy in the Solomon Islands, laying out in unusually blunt terms a plan to increase its influence in the South Pacific nation before China becomes “strongly embedded.”

The U.S. previously operated an embassy in the Solomons for five years before closing it in 1993. Since then, U.S. diplomats from neighboring Papua New Guinea have been accredited to the Solomons, which has a U.S. consular agency.

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