The Solomon Islands has confirmed that it is drafting a security deal with China after leaked documents indicated that a Chinese military base might be set up just northeast of Australia.
The leaked documents, described as a framework agreement on security cooperation, highlighted that the Solomon Islands could ask China to send armed police and military personnel to quell unrest, among other missions, including disaster response. It also said that the Solomon Islands could allow Chinese naval ships to dock in the country, and protect the safety of Chinese residents and major projects.
The potential deal comes as the US, Australia, Japan, India and other Indo-Pacific actors have become increasingly concerned about China boosting its maritime capabilities, its militarization of the South China Sea, and its increasing footprints in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.
Mao Zedong (毛澤東) claimed that the People’s Republic of China would never participate in foreign military exercises and would never have bases abroad.
Abandoning his directive, the Chinese military in 2002 began participating in bilateral and multilateral exercises, and in 2017 established an overseas military outpost in Djibouti, its first in the Indian Ocean region. Its Djibouti base is critical for securing China’s trade and energy security, and is used by Chinese peacekeeping forces in Africa. It is also a vital point of contact for Chinese navy vessels to refuel while conducting anti-piracy operations in the western Indian Ocean.
China’s 2015 defense white paper directed the Chinese armed forces to participate in regional and international security cooperation, and to protect China’s overseas interests.
This would require the modernization of the navy, and bases in and logistics agreements with multiple countries, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Chinese military still lacks seaborne and airborne refueling capabilities, stretching its logistics lines and limiting its overseas operations. The military is aware of this shortcoming, and is working toward expanding and improving its far sea capabilities by commissioning advanced long-range destroyers, frigates, aircraft carriers, replenishment and refueling ships, medium and heavy-lift long-distance aircraft, and refueling aircraft.
Similarly, it could also establish multiple military outposts in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, to overcome its overseas operational limitations.
Last year’s edition of the US Department of Defense’s annual report on China’s military power claims that China has probably considered Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola and Tajikistan as locations for military bases or military logistics facilities.
Furthermore, the known focus areas of Chinese military planning also include the sea lines of communication from China to the Strait of Hormuz, Africa and Pacific island countries.
However, such military outposts would not only secure the country’s trade and energy requirements, but also enable its armed forces to have a permanent presence in the region.
For instance, the Djibouti outpost helps the military gain invaluable operational experience in the Indian Ocean. This is vital for improving the operational capabilities of advanced vessels such as submarines, underwater drones, aircraft carriers and destroyers in the far seas, which are essential for establishing air and water superiority during a conflict.
The leaked documents revealed that China could send military and paramilitary personnel at Honiara’s request, but it could also dock ships for logistics replenishments.
As past experiences have highlighted, this could be the first step toward granting a permanent presence to Beijing in the southern Pacific. China’s expanding military footprint threatens the regional balance as it brings its troops to Australia and New Zealand’s doorstep.
Furthermore, if constructed, the military outpost would also help China dock its naval vessels outside the first and second island chains, relatively close to the US territory of Guam.
Finally, such deployment also undercuts the regional influence of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), as China has pulled another state into its orbit, despite Quad member Australia’s effort since 2018 to “re-engage with its Pacific family.”
For now, claims that China might impose a maritime blockade and interdict supply lines using a Solomon Islands base, similar to events in World War II, are extremely far-fetched.
However, if worked out, such an agreement would show the ascendance of Chinese influence, and the attractiveness of Chinese civilian and military investments for smaller Indo-Pacific actors. If ratified, the deal would bring enormous geostrategic leverage to China and should alarm the Quad countries, especially Australia, about the rising Chinese strategic challenge and increasing sphere of influence in its backyard.
Suyash Desai is a researcher specializing in Chinese security and foreign policies. He is studying Mandarin at National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung.
No matter what indicator you use, Russian President Vladimir Putin is winning in the energy markets. Moscow is milking its oil cash cow, earning hundreds of millions of US dollars every day to bankroll the invasion of Ukraine and buy domestic support for the war. Once European sanctions against Russian crude exports kick in from November, the region’s governments will face some tough choices as the energy crisis starts to bite consumers and companies. Electricity costs for homes and businesses are set to soar from October, as the surge in oil income allows Putin to sacrifice gas revenue and squeeze supplies to
In an August 12 Wall Street Journal report, Chinese sources contend that in their July 28 phone call, United States President Joe Biden was told by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) that “he had no intention of going to war with the US” over House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s then upcoming visit to Taiwan. However, there should be global alarm that Xi did use that visit to begin the CCP’s active war against democracy in Taiwan and globally, and that the Biden Administration’s response has been insufficient. To hear CCP officials, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) spokesmen, and a
Much of the foreign policy conversation in the US over the past two weeks has centered on whether US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi ought to have visited Taiwan. Her backers pointed out that there was precedent for such a visit — a previous House speaker and US Cabinet members had visited Taiwan — and that it is important for officials to underscore the US’ commitment to Taiwan in the face of increasing Chinese pressure. Critics argued that the trip was ill-timed, because Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would likely feel a need to respond, lest he appear weak
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) founder and former chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠) on Friday last week pledged to donate NT$3 billion (US$100 million) to help Taiwan protect itself from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) aggression. While still UMC chairman, Tsao gained a reputation for supporting unification with China and backing parties such as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the New Party and the People First Party, which have similar leanings. During a TV show on Monday, host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) asked Tsao which politicians he now supported. Tsao said he had supported the New Party when it formed, had become disappointed by People First
RSS