Scott Morrison says Chinese military base in Solomon Islands 'red line' for Australia, US

Solomon Islands (Image: Reuters)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said China building a military base on the Solomon Islands would be a "red line" for his country.

China and the Solomon Islands recently signed a framework agreement on security cooperation that has triggered an outrage in the neighbourhood and hasn’t gone down well with the US as well over Beijing’s growing influence in the South Pacific.

"Working together with our partners in New Zealand and of course the United States, I share the same red line that the United States has when it comes to these issues," ABC News has quoted Morrison as saying.

"This is a shared concern, not just Australia, this is Australia and regional governments, particularly places like Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

"We won't be having Chinese military naval bases in our region on our doorstep."

Morrison said Solomon Island's Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare assured him it would not happen.

The security pact

On April 20, China and the Solomon Islands signed a framework agreement on security cooperation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

"As approved by the governments of China and Solomon Islands, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Jeremiah Manele, on behalf of the governments of China and Solomon Islands respectively, officially signed the inter-governmental framework agreement on security cooperation between the two countries the other day," Wang said at a media briefing.

The agreement sought to enhance "social stability and long-term tranquility in the Solomon Islands", he said, stressing that security cooperation was not targeted at a third country and served the common interests of the South Pacific region.

The agreement, however, faced sharp criticism from the US and Australia, who said the pact could lead to China gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific.

A draft of the deal sent shockwaves across the region when it was leaked in April, particularly measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments on the Solomon Islands, which lies less than 2,000 kilometres from Australia.

The broad wording of the draft prompted a flurry of diplomatic overtures from Washington and Canberra to prevent it from being signed, including a last-ditch visit from Australia's Pacific minister, but they were unsuccessful.

Warming ties, uneasy neighbours

The Solomon Islands and China have been moving closer in recent years, with the Sogavare government severing ties with Taiwan in September 2019, just days before its Pacific neighbour Kiribati recognised Beijing.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton has warned Australians to prepare for war, saying China was "on a very deliberate course at the moment", a Skynews report said

Dutton also accused China of paying bribes to win international deals but refused to say if the corruption extended to Beijing's newly signed defence pact with the Solomon Islands.

"The Chinese don't play by our rules," the Australian defence minister said.

"If you look at what has happened in Africa, there are corrupt payments being made," he told Sky News Australia. "We can never compete with that sort of playbook. We have values and we have the rule of law that we abide by."

Last month, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, too, said the Solomon Islands' security partnership with China was worrying.

“We see such acts as a potential militarisation of the region and also see very little reason in terms of the Pacific security for such a need and such a presence,” Ardern told Radio NZ when asked if it would be acceptable for China to station its military vessels in the Pacific country. “We do see this as gravely concerning.”

Sogavare, however, said the Solomon Islands signed the security pact with China with its "eyes wide open".

"I ask all our neighbours, friends and partners to respect the sovereign interests of the Solomon Islands on the assurance that the decision will not adversely impact or undermine the peace and harmony of our region," he told parliament.

The US officials who visited the Solomon Islands are convinced "only a handful of people in a very small circle" have seen the final version of its controversial new security deal with China.

A secret arrangement?

A high-level delegation had arrived in the Pacific nation for talks with Sogavare, three days after Beijing announced the deal had been signed.

Quizzed about whether the delegation had asked to see the deal during the talks with Sogavare, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said, "I think it's clear that only a handful of people in a very small circle have seen this agreement."

He added it was a source of concern that Sogavare had stated publicly he would "only share the details with China's permission".

Kritenbrink was critical of the "complete lack of transparency behind this agreement", saying other Pacific nations as well as "friends inside the Solomon Islands" were concerned the deal had been inked behind closed doors.

"What precisely are the motivations behind the agreement? What exactly are China's objectives?" Kritenbrink asked.

"I think they are completely unclear, because this agreement has not been scrutinised, or viewed, or subject to any kind of consultation or approval process by anyone else."

The opposition Solomon Islands Democratic Party has asked for the deal to be made public, citing a security arrangement with Australia that has been available online for several years.

The US warned that it would "respond accordingly" if China sets up a military base in the Solomons but Kritenbrink declined to expound on the matter when pressed for details.

He said, "We do know that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is seeking to establish a more robust overseas logistics and basing infrastructure that would allow the PLA (People's Liberation Army) to project and sustain military power at greater distances".

The US would continue to monitor the situation closely, he said.

(With inputs from agencies)