Suva, Fiji: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogaware said on Thursday that his country’s new security agreement with Beijing would not allow China to build a military base on the South Pacific nation and make its citizens “targets of potential military attacks”.
Sogaware struck an agreement with Beijing in April to provide security assistance. Details of the agreement have not been made public, but the deal raised fears of a permanent Chinese military facility within 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi) of the northeastern Australian coast.
He used a meeting of leaders of the Pacific island nation in Fiji on Thursday to strongly deny that his country would become a Chinese military base in the South Pacific.
“The moment we set up a foreign military base, we immediately become enemies. And we have placed our country and our people as targets for potential military attacks,” Sogaware told reporters in the capital, Suva.
“There is no military base, nor any other military facility or institution in the agreement. And this is a very important point that we continue to reiterate to the family in the area,” he said.
Without naming the United States or Solomon’s major security partner Australia, Sogaware told his parliament in May that opponents of the Chinese treaty had threatened and insulted his country.
Both the United States and Australia have told the Solomon Islands that a country hosting a Chinese military base will not be tolerated.
The government of Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has since been elected on the promise of greater aid and engagement with the country’s island neighbors.
Sogaware greeted Albanians with a hug on Wednesday in their first one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ summit in Suva. The forum was a collection of 18 island nations until Kiribati’s withdrawal this week.
Albanese described the meeting as “very constructive”, insisting that “Australia’s interests would not be served by having a military base so close to Australia.”
“I welcome his (Sogaware) comments that there (Australia) have a Chinese base,” Albanese said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had spoken openly with Sogaware during a meeting on Wednesday about her concerns about the Chinese deal. He said the two leaders found “common ground” on the need to limit militarization in the region.
The leaders’ summit is steeped in geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, which have both fueled increased strategic interest in the region.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who presided over the summit, told his fellow leaders in an opening speech that “the global and geopolitical landscape is hotly competitive.”
“We are seeing a multipolar system emerging, all struggling to shape the world in their favor,” Bainimarama said.
Bainimarama invited US Vice President Kamala Harris to deliver a virtual address on Wednesday. His invitation was noteworthy as the forum’s dialogue partners, including the United States, China, Britain and France, were not invited to this year’s summit.
Harris proposed new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati, a Micronesian state that broke off the stage this week.
He also requested that the US Congress triple funding of $60 million a year for fisheries aid and appoint the first US envoy to the Forum.
Two Chinese embassy defense attaches, who were watching Harris’ address from the media, were spotted by a journalist and reported to the police. The police told them to leave, The Guardian reported.
Forum officials did not respond when asked by media whether Chinese officials were authorized to participate.
The Chinese foreign ministry said the pair did not break any rules after watching Harris’ speech.
“Chinese representatives have been invited to attend relevant meetings and events,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati have recently shifted their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing. Kiribati’s withdrawal from the platform is being interpreted as a deepening of China’s influence in the region.
Sogaware struck an agreement with Beijing in April to provide security assistance. Details of the agreement have not been made public, but the deal raised fears of a permanent Chinese military facility within 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi) of the northeastern Australian coast.
He used a meeting of leaders of the Pacific island nation in Fiji on Thursday to strongly deny that his country would become a Chinese military base in the South Pacific.
“The moment we set up a foreign military base, we immediately become enemies. And we have placed our country and our people as targets for potential military attacks,” Sogaware told reporters in the capital, Suva.
“There is no military base, nor any other military facility or institution in the agreement. And this is a very important point that we continue to reiterate to the family in the area,” he said.
Without naming the United States or Solomon’s major security partner Australia, Sogaware told his parliament in May that opponents of the Chinese treaty had threatened and insulted his country.
Both the United States and Australia have told the Solomon Islands that a country hosting a Chinese military base will not be tolerated.
The government of Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has since been elected on the promise of greater aid and engagement with the country’s island neighbors.
Sogaware greeted Albanians with a hug on Wednesday in their first one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ summit in Suva. The forum was a collection of 18 island nations until Kiribati’s withdrawal this week.
Albanese described the meeting as “very constructive”, insisting that “Australia’s interests would not be served by having a military base so close to Australia.”
“I welcome his (Sogaware) comments that there (Australia) have a Chinese base,” Albanese said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had spoken openly with Sogaware during a meeting on Wednesday about her concerns about the Chinese deal. He said the two leaders found “common ground” on the need to limit militarization in the region.
The leaders’ summit is steeped in geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, which have both fueled increased strategic interest in the region.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who presided over the summit, told his fellow leaders in an opening speech that “the global and geopolitical landscape is hotly competitive.”
“We are seeing a multipolar system emerging, all struggling to shape the world in their favor,” Bainimarama said.
Bainimarama invited US Vice President Kamala Harris to deliver a virtual address on Wednesday. His invitation was noteworthy as the forum’s dialogue partners, including the United States, China, Britain and France, were not invited to this year’s summit.
Harris proposed new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati, a Micronesian state that broke off the stage this week.
He also requested that the US Congress triple funding of $60 million a year for fisheries aid and appoint the first US envoy to the Forum.
Two Chinese embassy defense attaches, who were watching Harris’ address from the media, were spotted by a journalist and reported to the police. The police told them to leave, The Guardian reported.
Forum officials did not respond when asked by media whether Chinese officials were authorized to participate.
The Chinese foreign ministry said the pair did not break any rules after watching Harris’ speech.
“Chinese representatives have been invited to attend relevant meetings and events,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati have recently shifted their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing. Kiribati’s withdrawal from the platform is being interpreted as a deepening of China’s influence in the region.