China seeks strategic chokepoint
Tensions between China, Australia and the Solomon Islands escalated over a leaked draft of a treaty between the Pacific nation and China, which has fuelled fears that China is planning to establish a military base there, say Tania Miletic and Anouk Ride in The Guardian. Australia has voiced security concerns and implied that the Pacific islands is “its domain of control”. The Solomon Islands’ prime minster, Manasseh Sogavare, has criticised countries for not respecting its sovereignty and branded domestic critics of the treaty “lunatics”. The situation was aggravated by Tuesday’s news that the defence alliance AUKUS, comprising US, Britain and Australia, whose “unstated aim is to provide a bulwark against China’s military ambitions in the Indo-Pacific”, is to expand cooperation on hypersonics and other military technologies, says The Washington Post.
Security concerns regarding China are “understandable”, says Kathrin Hille in the Financial Times. A Chinese military “foothold” could “block maritime access lanes to Australia”, an ally the US would rely on in the event of a conflict with China. The draft agreement permits Beijing to send in police to deal with local unrest and Chinese warships to stop in local ports. It allows “large-scale” Chinese military and intelligence operations, and provides “legal and judicial immunity” for all Chinese personnel too, adds Patricia O’Brien in The Diplomat.
Opinion within the Solomon Islands is sharply divided, say Miletic and Ride. Anger over the decision to switch allegiance from Taiwan to China in 2019 is thought to be responsible in part for last year’s deadly riots, which targeted Chinatown. “Economic woes” are the real issue, says Hille. Opposition leader Matthew Wale accuses China of bankrolling Sogavare. “We are in a situation of state capture. Australia is doing a lot, but maybe their support is not having the level of impact that is needed.”