ANGER OVER ‘RED LINE’ ON SOLOMONS

Defence ministry blasts Canberra for opposing security pact and says talk of naval base is ‘fake news’

China has slammed Australia for opposing its security pact with Solomon Islands, calling it a colonialist myth-driven violation of sovereignty and saying Canberra had no right to lay down any “red line”.

This came as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a Chinese military base in the South Pacific nation would be a “red line” for his government, days after Beijing and Honiara confirmed the signing of the deal without revealing details.

Talk of China building a naval base was “purely fake news”, defence ministry spokesman Tan

Kefei said yesterday, accusing the Australian government and media of intentionally distorting facts and creating tension.

Cooperation under the pact would involve “maintaining social order, protecting people’s lives and property, humanitarian assistance [and] natural disaster responses”, Tan reiterated.

Addressing an online event with Pacific Island nations, vice-foreign minister Xie Feng said negotiating and signing a framework security cooperation agreement was “the sacred right of two sovereign countries” and no one had the right to point fingers at China.

“On what grounds can Australia draw a ‘red line’ for Solomon Islands, 2,000km away, and China, 10,000km away? If not an infringement of another country’s sovereignty, interference in another country’s internal affairs and a breach of international rules, what is this?”

Xie said Australia’s stance amounted to “disinformation, defamation, coercion and intimidation”, and proof that it was still “obsessed with colonialist myths, exercising coercive diplomacy, trying hard to control the Pacific islands to maintain a so-called sphere of influence”.

“The Pacific is the common home of regional countries, not someone’s ‘backyard’ or ‘turf’, and should be a stage for international cooperation, not a chessboard for geopolitical games.”

The security agreement was

“open and transparent [and] not targeted at third parties”, Xie told a virtual event in Shandong launching a cooperation centre on climate change for China and Pacific Island countries.

He said China understood the climate change challenges facing the island nations and was willing to provide help “as a good friend, partner and brother”.

Attending the event virtually were officials from Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Micronesia, Kiribati, Fiji and Vanuatu.

“China has no selfish interest in developing relations and cooperation with Pacific Island countries,” Xie asserted. “[It] does not seek ‘spheres of influence’ or engage in bullying and coercion but is always a constructive force for peace and development.”

The White House sent a delegation to warn Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of unspecified action against his country. Japan on Monday dispatched a foreign vice-minister, saying the deal could affect security in the entire region. New Zealand has also raised questions.

Australia tried to pressure Sogavare into not signing the deal. And while Morrison has reiterated his opposition to a Chinese naval base, other politicians issued even stronger rhetoric on the impact of the deal on national security.

Sogavare has sought to reassure all that a Chinese base is not in the offing, urging critics to respect his country’s sovereign interests and says traditional partners, such as Australia and New Zealand, will remain important.

China has no selfish interest in developing relations and cooperation with Pacific Island countries

XIE FENG, VICE-FOREIGN MINISTER