A key adviser to the premier of the most populous province in the Solomon Islands has expressed concern that a security deal with China could enable Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to use Chinese armed police and military personnel to quash democratic dissent, and hold onto power for years to come.
Celsus Irokwato Talifilu, who is an adviser to Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani, said that while it is “fair” that Australia, the US and other regional partners have focused their attention on the prospect of a military base on the islands, the major fear for many in the Solomon Islands is the erosion of democracy.
“My main fear is [that Chinese military or police personnel] put [Sogavare] in power for a long time,” he said. “People say we are a democratic country, of course it is. But when you have a force bigger than anyone else in the Solomons, it will be easy for him to use that force to support him and his ministers, or those who are in government, to ensure they come back at the next elections.”
Photo: AFP
The comments came as Australia’s spy chief said Canberra was concerned that Chinese police deployed to the Solomon Islands under a new security pact could use “ruthless” techniques previously used to quell anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
“In such a fragile, volatile country, Chinese policing techniques and tactics that we’ve seen deployed so ruthlessly in Hong Kong, for example, are completely inconsistent with the Pacific way of resolving issues, and could incite further instability and violence in the Solomon Islands,” said Andrew Shearer, director-general of the Australian Office of National Intelligence, who last month traveled to the Pacific island nation in a failed attempt to persuade Sogavare not to sign the agreement.
The text of the security deal, which was signed last week, has been kept secret, with Sogavare saying that he would only release it with China’s permission, something that has alarmed Solomon Island legislators, who have called for it to be made public.
A leaked draft of the deal detailed broad conditions under which the Solomon Islands could call upon China for armed police and military personnel, including “to assist in maintaining social order, protecting people’s lives and property, providing humanitarian assistance, carrying out disaster response or providing assistance on other tasks agreed upon by the parties [to the agreement].”
Talifilu was speaking as he accompanied Suidani on a tour of Malaita, which is home to about one-quarter of the Solomon Islands’ population.
Malaita did not support the Sogavare government’s decision in 2019 to switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China. Unhappiness with Sogavare over the switch was part of the motivation for riots in Honiara last year.
Talifilu said that during the tour, many people across the province had raised the issue of the China security deal.
“People ask about it,” he said. “And they are fearful to be honest... It’s a big discussion in communities, wanting to know how is this going to affect us.”
“It’s known that Malaita Province stood against China coming into our province ... so they know that the emphasis on security, internal security, is an emphasis against Malaita,” he said. “So if it so happens that the Chinese are in Honiara or are invited to do things, it will be against Malaitans.”
Talifilu said that it is understandable that foreign countries such as Australia have focused on the prospect of a Chinese naval base being built on Solomon Islands.
He added that while Sogavare has repeatedly said there would be no Chinese military base, the assurances should not be trusted, as the prime minister had “not been truthful” in the past, including in the period before the change of diplomatic allegiance in 2019.
“He promised people, including foreign governments, that before any switch there would be thorough consultations and that includes reports from within government to inform the government of the pros and cons, or the switch from the Republic of China [Taiwan] to the PRC [People’s Republic Of China]. He ended up not doing that. So those experiences for me have taught me that this man is the kind of person that you can’t trust,” Talifilu said. “It’s fair to say that people should be worried. Why? Because why should we trust him now?”
Sogavare had been contacted for comment.
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