US warns Solomons over Chinese military presence
The United States has drawn a line in the sand for the Solomon Islands regarding its recently signed security co-operation agreement with China.
In a meeting on Friday, US National Security Council Indo-pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell conveyed Washington’s concerns with the treaty.
Campbell told Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare the US respected the right of nations to make sovereign decisions but warned if steps are taken by China to establish a de facto permanent military presence in the country the US would have significant concerns and respond accordingly.
During their meeting, Campbell also outlined specific steps the US would take to advance the welfare of the people of the Solomon Islands.
This included expediting the opening of an embassy in Honiara, advancing co-operation on unexploded World War II ordnance and launching a programme on maritime domain awareness.
Massey University Senior Lecturer in Security Studies Dr Anna Powles said the position was much more direct than that taken by either Canberra or Wellington but still raised more questions than answers.
“It does leave us wondering what that ‘respond accordingly’ actually does mean and importantly also what actually can the US do if China does seek to, with the permission [of] Solomon Islands’ government of the time, to establish some type of military presence in the country,” Powles said.
The leaked draft security pact lacked the level of detail which was in other security agreements signed by the Solomon Islands, said Powles.
“If you compare it, for example with the Australia-solomon Islands Bilateral Security Treaty — which enabled the Solomon Islands intervention force, of which New Zealand was part of, to respond to the riots in November last year — that treaty is very clear, very unambiguous,” Powles said.
“But, the draft security arrangement between China and [the] Solomons lacks that level of clarity.
“And there are some critical provisions in there which I would be concerned about which relate to there needing to be an agreement between both parties — China and [the] Solomon Islands, and about the release of any information about the security co-operation agreement,” she said.
The clause around controlling information about the security agreement, and the ability of the media in the Solomon Islands to freely report on the agreement and the security arrangement between China and the Solomons is also of concern, she said.
“Then there are other broader more ambitious elements within the agreement which relate to the provision of Chinese security personnel to protect Chinese nationals and projects in [the] Solomon Islands, as well as the reference to ships stopping over or transiting through the country,” she said.