Solomons defends new China security pact

The Solomon Islands on Friday defended plans to sign a security deal with Beijing that could allow China to boost its military presence in the South Pacific island nation.

A document, leaked on social media, revealed details of the pact, raising alarm bells in Australia, amid concerns China could try to establish a military base on the islands.

What does the leak reveal?

The document says the Solomon Islands may "request China to send police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces." 

It said Beijing could also send ships for stopovers and to replenish supplies.

The draft also allows China to have the final say on any public information released about the new pact.

The leak is believed to be part of wider security arrangements after the Solomons on Thursday agreed on a policing cooperation pact with China following anti-government protests in November that turned into riots.

A Solomon Islands official told Reuters news agency that the agreement would be sent to the cabinet for consideration.

Why is Australia concerned?

Australia and New Zealand have for decades seen the Pacific islands as their "backyard" and any security pact with Beijing is a threat to their position in the region.

Washington and Canberra have long been concerned about the potential for China to build a naval base in the South Pacific, allowing its navy to project power far beyond East Asia.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison 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.

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told ABC Radio the proposed pact was "one of the most significant security developments that we have seen in decades and it's one that is adverse to Australia's national security interests."

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said any move to establish a Chinese military base in the Solomon Islands would be concerning.

"We want peace and stability in the region. We don't want unsettling influences and we don't want pressure and coercion that we are seeing from China," Dutton told Channel Nine TV.

New Zealand said Friday it would raise the issue with both the Solomon Islands and China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Friday called on relevant parties to look at the security pact "objectively and calmly and not over-interpret it."

What does the Solomon Islands say?

About the security arrangement with Beijing, the Solomon Islands government said in a statement it was "diversifying the country's security partnership including with China."

It added that "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 said the security arrangement with Australia, signed in 2017, would be unaffected.

What events led up to this move?

In 2019, the Solomon Islands government established diplomatic ties with China and severed ties with Taiwan.

The decision was fiercely opposed by several senior politicians who warned that the rule of law, land rights and cultural heritage could be compromised.

In November, anti-government protests turned violent, fuelled by unemployment and inter-island rivalries. But anti-China sentiment also played a role and much of the capital Honiara's Chinatown was torched.

More than 200 peacekeepers from Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand were deployed to restore calm, and veteran Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare avoided being ousted.

China also sent police to train local forces and donated riot equipment.

Last month, the US said it would reopen its embassy in the islands, having closed the diplomatic post in 1993.

Washington was unusually blunt in its plan to increase its influence in the South Pacific nation before China becomes "strongly embedded."

The Solomon Islands has a population of around 800,000 and lies 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) northeast of Australia.

The nation has been wracked by political and social unrest, and many of its people live in poverty.

mm/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)