Australia, New Zealand and the United States have expressed concern over security talks between the Pacific island nation and China, which were made public last week following the release of a draft security treaty, raising concerns about a Chinese base in the region. . Sugavare told parliament on Tuesday that the leaked security document was a draft and would not provide details on the content of the final agreement. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “We are not under any pressure from our new friends and there is no intention of asking China to build a military base in the Solomon Islands,” he said. The islands changed diplomatic allegiance to mainland China from Taiwan in 2019. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that it was a “potential militarization of the region” and Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said Canberra would be concerned if the deal led to a Chinese military base in Ei. read more In a speech to parliament, Sogavare criticized the larger countries, saying they did not care if the Pacific Islands fell under water due to climate change and considered the region “the backyard of the great western powers”. He also denied the opposition’s claims that a security pact with China would lead to an authoritarian government. The opposition accused Sogavare of using a new police pact with China and concluding a security agreement to support his leadership. During anti-government riots last year, Sogavare said the Chinatown district in the capital Honiara burned down and that there were also threats to sports infrastructure for the 2023 Pacific Games, a reference to seven stages built by China in a deal reached after the islands changed diplomatic allegiance. The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan area of New York, USA, September 23, 2016. REUTERS / Eduardo Munoz / File Photo “If a country does not have the political appetite to do so, we must have an alternative arrangement,” he said, adding that the infrastructure provided in the Solomon Islands must be protected. Australia provided police assistance to Sogavare to restore order after the unrest under a 2017 security treaty, and New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea later also sent police. The leaked draft said the security treaty would allow China’s armed police and army to protect Chinese works. Sogavare rejected suggestions that China’s presence was a threat to regional security. He said the nation of the Pacific islands would not “choose a side” and that the security treaty with Australia would remain in force. Sogavare said he had written to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the issue, and explained Solomon’s position in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Forum, the main regional political and economic cooperation group, on the phone. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that “law enforcement and security cooperation” with the Solomon Islands was in line with law and international law. “We hope that the countries concerned will respect Solomon’s sovereignty and the decisions it has made, rather than condescendingly thinking that they have the right to demand what the Solomon Islands may or may not do,” Wang said. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne told parliament on Tuesday that Canberra’s security agreement with Honiara had been extended until 2023, adding that diplomats were “regularly and respectfully expressing our concern” over China’s security negotiations. New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta in Fiji said in a statement that five defense personnel would remain in Honiara until May and that New Zealand would “continue to strongly condemn” the proposed Solomon Islands agreement with China. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Kirsty Needham in Sydney. additional references by Lucy Craymer in Wellington and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing. Editing by Kenneth Maxwell, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Raissa Kasolowsky Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
