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Solomon Islands confirms security talks with China
A security pact with the Pacific island nation would be a major inroad for China in a region that US allies Australia and New Zealand have for decades seen as their "back yard".
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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 October 9, 2019. (AFP/Thomas Peter)
T
he Solomon Islands confirmed on Friday it was creating a partnership with China to address security threats and ensure a safe environment for investment as part of a diversification of its security relations.
A security pact with the Pacific island nation would be a major inroad for China in a region that US allies Australia and New Zealand have for decades seen as their "back yard".
Australia and New Zealand have expressed their concern about the impact on regional security of military cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands after a draft document outlining the proposed cooperation was leaked this week.
"Broadening partnerships is needed to improve the quality of lives of our people and address soft and hard security threats facing the country," the government of the Solomon Islands said in its first public comment on the matter.
It said in a statement it was "diversifying the country’s security partnership including with China" and was working to sign a number of agreements with it "to further create a secure and safe environment for local and foreign investments".
A Solomons Islands official told Reuters on Thursday a security agreement with China covering the military would be sent to its cabinet for consideration. The Solomons has already signed a policing deal with China.
The arrangement would cover humanitarian needs besides maintaining the rule of law, the Solomons Islands said, adding that it needed to rebuild its economy after recent riots and would sign an air services agreement with China and increase trade.
A security agreement with Australia, signed in 2017, would be preserved as the Solomon Islands deepened its relations with China, it said.
Australian Minister for Pacific Zed Seselja said the prime minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, had been told of Australia's concern over the discussions with China and Canberra expected there would be "significant pushback in the region".
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, commenting on the issue earlier on Friday, said Australia and New Zealand were part of the "Pacific family" and had a history of providing security support and responding to crises.
"There are others who may seek to pretend to influence and may seek to get some sort of hold in the region and we are very conscious of that," he told reporters.
