Solomon Islands Prime Minister (PM) Manasseh Sogavare slammed global opposition to an imminent security deal with China, particularly from neighbouring Australia and New Zealand, as “insulting.”
In a speech on Tuesday, Sogavare said that he found it “very insulting... to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs or have other motives in pursuing our national interest.” He further added that “it is clear that we need to diversify the country’s relationship with other countries” in order to "achieve our security needs.” “What is wrong with that?” Sogavare questioned.
Sogavare confirmed that his government and counterparts in Beijing had reached an agreement on the outline of the deal, although it has yet to be signed. The PM offered no further details on the guarantees of the agreement.
Are we to conclude that the China/Solomon Islands dialogue came as a shock to Australian intelligence community. After the Aukus deal? Surely a Chinese response was expected. And now we are going cap in hand to Pacific nations for help to prevent it happening. Breathtaking.
— Geoff Kitney (@4mambo) March 28, 2022
Sogavare’s rebuke comes after Australia raised concern about a copy of the draft security agreement circulating on social media last week. The leaked document shows that the agreement would allow China to further expand its presence in the region by basing navy warships in the Pacific. If enacted, the document would enable Beijing to station Chinese armed police, military, and “other law enforcement and armed forces” in the Solomons. The deal also outlines the potential for the establishment of a naval base on the island.
Reacting to the leak, Australian Minister for Defence Peter Dutton had said that Canberra “would be concerned” if “any military base” is established less than 2,000 kilometres off its coast. “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 continuing to roll out in the region,” he added.
To this end, PM Scott Morrison asked Fiji and Papua New Guinea on Monday to help convince the Solomon Islands to abandon the deal. The three countries were part of the Solomon International Assistance Force (SAIF) Mission that helped restore order after riots broke out in the island nation in November. In fact, the protests were partly fuelled by the population’s displeasure with the government switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing.
The Pacific family is best placed to provide security assistance to 🇸🇧. 🇦🇺 has raised its concerns with 🇸🇧 about the proposed 🇸🇧-🇨🇳 security cooperation agreement regularly and respectfully. We would be concerned by any actions which undermine our region’s stability & security. pic.twitter.com/3ihohYcfT4
— Lachie Strahan (@AusHCSols) March 28, 2022
Echoing similar concerns, littoral neighbour New Zealand also expressed its misgivings about the Chinese security deal. PM Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that her administration is “gravely concerned” about the “potential militarisation of the region.” Ardern added that New Zealand saw “very little reason in terms of the Pacific security for such a need and such a presence.”
However, Sogavare has dismissed the concern from “many leaders” about China’s presence threatening regional security in the Pacific as “unfortunate perceptions.”
While Canberra has insisted that the “Pacific family” is best placed to provide security assistance to the Solomon Islands, Chinese state-owned media house Global Times accused Morrison’s administration of “hyping rumours and creating fear” around China’s military ambitions. The state media outlet also accused Australia of “desperately trying to maintain its role of “South Pacific bully” under its hegemonic and colonialist mentality.”
China’s Foreign Ministry asserted that any attempt to disrupt the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the island nation “is doomed to fail.” “Relevant countries should earnestly respect Solomon Islands’ sovereignty and its independent decisions instead of deciding what others should and should not do,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated on Monday.