Solomons signed China security pact ‘with our eyes wide open’

SYDNEY, Australia: The Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China with its “eyes wide open”, the Pacific nation’s prime minister said Wednesday, despite strong US and Australian opposition to the deal. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said it was an “honour and privilege” to tell parliament the agreement had been signed by officials in Honiara and Beijing “a few days ago”.

The deal, announced Tuesday by Beijing, has faced sharp criticism from the United States and Australia, which fear the pact could lead to China gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific.

Sogavare said his government had signed the deal “with our eyes wide open” but declined to say when the signed version would be made public. A draft of the deal sent shockwaves across the region when it was leaked last month, particularly measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomon Islands, which lies less than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) 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 ultimately unsuccessful. The Solomon Islands and China have been moving closer in recent years, with Sogavare’s government severing ties with Taiwan in September 2019, just days before its Pacific neighbour Kiribati followed suit in recognising Beijing.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced a barrage of questions about his handling of the Solomon Islands as news of the deal broke during a closely fought federal election campaign. Morrison said he would visit the Pacific nation “at the first opportunity” but rejected criticism that he or Foreign Minister Marise Payne should have travelled to the Solomons to personally lobby against the deal.