New Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale yesterday said he would review a secretive 2022 security pact with Beijing, which rattled Canberra and Washington by opening the door to Chinese forces in the South Pacific.
Asked about that pact alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Solomons leader, elected last month, said he had been “praying and fasting” about the Chinese security deal.
“We are going to be reviewing, as we are reviewing other security agreements that we have with many other countries,” he said.
Photo: EPA
Australia and the US have been sharply critical of the 2022 deal over concerns it could allow a permanent Chinese navy presence in the South Pacific.
It was signed under one of Wale’s predecessors, former prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, who was seen as Beijing’s staunchest ally in the South Pacific. Wale said the deal contained a non-disclosure agreement and he had not seen it until just before his visit to Australia.
“I have had to remove certain people from key positions. I have not been afforded a copy, even, of that agreement, until a day before I left, so I have not had a good look at it,” he told a news conference in Canberra.
Australia is the largest aid donor to the country of 800,000 people that sits 2,000km to its north-east, and historically provided police support during crises.
After the Solomons switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019 and struck the security pact, relations with Canberra and Washington deteriorated.
China quickly became the strategically located Pacific island state’s largest bilateral creditor, with Solomon Islands’ debt to Chinese banks for infrastructure projects doubling last year.
Seeking to counter Beijing’s influence, Australia has seized the opportunity to rebuild ties, hosting Wale on his first international visit as leader.
Albanese said the two countries would begin work on a “comprehensive” new treaty as well as deepen ties in policing, with Australia seeking to be the top security partner for the Pacific.
The treaty would be “underpinned by mutual trust, respect, and open dialogue.” the prime minister said.
“We have sought a reset in this relationship — we acknowledge there have been problems over the last few years,” Wale said.
The Pacific should turn to other countries within the region for their security, he said.
The leaders agreed to push ahead with a major police training deal.
Australia’s offer to fund the expansion of the Solomons police force had stalled under the previous Solomon Islands government, which allowed Chinese police to enter villages to collect household and biometric data.
Wale said he was in discussions with Australia and the US for financing for critical infrastructure such as ports.
Sogavare rejected US offers of infrastructure grants, instead opting to partner with Chinese state companies.
Australia has sought to bind South Pacific countries closer by striking treaties with a string of small, but strategically located island states — Tuvalu, Nauru and Papua New Guinea, offering significant economic support in return for curbs on Chinese security ties. Vanuatu and Fiji have said they are close to signing similar deals.
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