CANBERRA (CU)_Over the past few months, Beijing has been attempting to ramp up its military cooperation with the Solomon Islands after a state of unrest unfolded in the archipelago late last year. Accordingly, in February, a team of police officers from China began their work in the Pacific islands, hoping to restore law and order in the country.
However, it appears that relations between the two countries have gone beyond the provision of anti-riot training and equipment, after a draft security document between Beijing and Honiara was leaked online last week. While the document itself sparked concern in neighbouring countries like Australia and New Zealand, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce denies Canberra was caught by surprise, saying Australian intelligence agencies were “all over” the development.
Following the news of the draft agreement, the leader of the opposition in Solomon Islands, Matthew Wale, said he first warned Australia’s federal government regarding nascent security negotiations last year, as he criticised Canberra’s response to growing security cooperation between the incumbent government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Beijing. Wale claimed it was wrong to suggest his government was caught off guard by the pact or that its response had been flat-footed. “I think they’d be highly naive to think the Australian government is not completely over this issue. The Prime Minister, the national security community, they are not fools,” he said.
The Deputy PM went on to say that the Australian government had invested enormous effort and resources into building relations with Pacific Island nations. “We are engaged because we are not blind to the tactics of other people who are going through the process of trying to restrict our capacity of movement and intimidate us,” he said.
Joyce also inquired why Beijing is looking to set up a military base in Melanesia, suggesting that the move may be aimed directly at Australia. “I think what Australia has to do is say well, what is the point of the Chinese having a naval base in Solomon Islands?” he said. “I mean, they are not under threat from the Antarctic and New Zealand.”
