- Writing
- BBC News World
image sources, Getty Images
Australia, New Zealand and the United States have raised concerns about the security situation in the Pacific region, after China signed an agreement with the Solomon Islands that includes defense assistance.
The two countries signed the pact this week, which fueled the fears that China is trying to build a naval base in this Pacific island state.
The Solomon Islands has rejected recent efforts by Australia, its biggest aid donor, to end the deal.
The country’s prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, said the new treaty “would not compromise peace and harmony” in the region.
The Solomon Islands leader added that the deal was not aimed at traditional allies, but “rather our own internal security situation”.
He did not reveal the terms of the pact, but insisted it was made “with eyes wide open, guided by our national interests”.
Chinese warships and troops
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta also expressed disappointment with the deal.
Additionally, the pact was revealed days before US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell visited the Solomon Islands for high-level talks.
These conversations will likely be related to the US security concerns over increased military presence dechin In the region.
The United States has announced the reopening of its embassy in the Solomon Islands, which has been closed since 1993.
According to a leaked draft of the agreement, verified by the Australian government, the agreement provides that Chinese warships will be able to dock on the islands and that beijing can send security forces “to help maintain social order.”
In recent years, many social unrest has erupted in the Solomon Islands.
In November, the Australian government sent personnel from its defense forces to help quell deadly riots that broke out in the capital, Honiara, after protesters stormed parliament in an attempt to oust Sogavare.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the final pact retains provisions on “maintaining social order”.
“Australia’s worst foreign policy failure”
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Pacific Minister Zed Seselja called the newly signed deal “deeply disappointing” and said they were “concerned about the lack of transparency with which this deal was crafted”.
“Our consistent view, even from the perspective of Australia’s national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of the region“, they claimed in a joint press release.
Australia’s Labor opposition called it “the worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific” in 80 years.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, currently seeking re-election with a partial focus on national security, denied the pact was evidence that his government had soured diplomatic relations with the Solomon Islands.
He added that he can’t go “telling Pacific Island leaders what they should and shouldn’t do”.
However, Morrison claimed his country will not have a “submissive relationship” with China, which he said has made “all sorts of promises” to Pacific nations.
“We’ve always resisted China because it’s in our interest,” Morrison told reporters on Wednesday.
The New Zealand Foreign Minister said her country is “sad” about the pact signed by the Solomon Islands.
The Solomon Islands had already announced early last month that it was drafting a security agreement with China.
This was of particular concern to Australia, which lies just 2,000 km south of the Solomon Islands. The country has also seen its tensions with China grow in recent years.
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