Australia asked the Solomon Islands, a strategic Pacific island nation, to reconsider signing a security pact it is close to signing with Beijing despite Canberra’s concerns.
The pact, according to leaked documents, includes the possibility of sending Chinese security forces to maintain order if requested by the Solomon Islands government.
“We have respectfully asked the Solomon Islands to consider not signing the agreement and to consult with the Pacific family (of countries) in the spirit of regional openness and transparency, which is consistent with our security frameworks in the region,” Australian Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja said Wednesday.
Seselja, on a two-day visit to the Solomon Islands since Tuesday, said Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare recently announced Australia is his preferred security partner and that the Salmon Islands would not serve as a military base for China or other nations.
However, Sogavare, who changed his foreign policy in 2019 after changing his alliance with Taiwan to recognize China, has also expressed his intention to diversify his security ties with other powers to face various threats, such as the climate crisis.
The potential signing of this pact generates concern in Australia, such as New Zealand and other island countries, which fears a militarization of the region and has seen China for years as a threat to its influence in the Indo-Pacific island nations.
Source: Agencies
