Solomon Islands

Western governments have been concerned over China establishing a military presence in the South Pacific nation.

China and Solomon Islands have signed a framework agreement on security cooperation – a deal Australia, New Zealand and the US fear could open the door to a ...

The island nation has caught the eye of Beijing, sending Washington scrambling. By Colm Quinn, the newsletter writer at Foreign Policy.

National Security Council Indo-Pacific corrdinator Kurt Campbell will lead the U.S. delegation after the Solomons and China initialed a draft agreement of a ...

National Security Council Indo-Pacific corrdinator Kurt Campbell will lead the U.S. delegation after the Solomons and China initialed a draft agreement of a ...

The U.S. is sending two top officials to the Solomon Islands over concerns that China could establish a military presence in the South Pacific island ...

He said the agreement does not seek to supersede the South Pacific nation’s security ties with other nations. “We have asked Solomon Islands respectfully to consider not signing the agreement and to consult the Pacific family in the spirit of regional openness and transparency, consistent with our region’s security frameworks,” Seselja said in a statement. The Solomon Islands portrayed the meeting in a more positive light, saying Sogavare and Seselja held productive discussions regarding the security concerns of the Solomon Islands and the wider Pacific region. “Despite the Solomon Islands government’s comments, the broad nature of the security agreement leaves open the door for the deployment of P.R.C. (People’s Republic of China) military forces to the Solomon Islands,” Price said. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agreement could destabilize the Solomon Islands and would set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific region. A draft of the pact, which was leaked online, said Chinese warships could stop in the Solomon Islands and China could send police and armed forces there “to assist in maintaining social order.”

China said on Tuesday it had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, a move set to heighten the concerns of the United States and allies Australia ...

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Douglas Ete, chairman of parliament's public accounts committee, had told fellow lawmakers that Chinese officials would arrive in mid-May to sign cooperation pacts. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com A separate leaked draft of a security pact included provisions for Chinese police to protect companies and infrastructure, and for Chinese naval vessels to replenish in Honiara. Australian officials said China appeared to want to pre-empt the arrival of the U.S. delegation in Honiara, which the White House said would discuss concerns about China, as well as the reopening of a U.S. embassy.

Federal Labor accuses the government of the "worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific" in almost 80 years, after the governments of Solomon ...

Last week, Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja was sent to Solomon Islands in a last-ditch effort to convince the government in Honiara to walk away from the deal, a trip now shown to have been fruitless. - Australia's Minister for the Pacific was sent to Solomon Islands last week to try to convince its government to walk away from the deal Federal Labor is accusing the government of the "worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific" in almost 80 years, after the governments of Solomon Islands and China signed a new security pact.

Payne was at a private business dinner in Sydney when the Pacific Minister was sent to Honia in a failed attempt to stop the Beijing security deal.

“It both complements original and bilateral peacekeeping arrangements with respect to the original security partners that we collectively trust to maintain peace and stability of the region.” Sogavare has maintained that he would not allow China to establish a navy base in the country, but those assurances have not been enough for the White House. US Indo-Pacific chief Kurt Campbell is due to arrive in Honiara in the next two days. “We’ve always been the big brother of the Pacific with all Pacific nations. Sogavare dismissed the claims as “nonsense”. “We intend to beef up and strengthen our police capability and capacity to deal with any future instability.” Yet, only in recent days did the government bother to send a junior person across to the Solomons,” he said. The deal puts national and regional security at the centre of the Australian federal election campaign. “The problem is those relationships aren’t ones that can be done just during when there’s a crisis,” Albanese said. “They are a sovereign nation,” he said last week. He said extra security was necessary after anti-government riots in 2019 and 2021. On Tuesday night when China’s Foreign Ministry announced the deal had been signed Payne was attending a Liberal Women’s networking forum in South Australia after earlier campaigning in Boothby. During an election campaign, senior ministers have to manage fundraising, campaigning and governing while the government remains in caretaker mode. Labor leader Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that would go to Honiara if elected to meet defiant Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to relay Australia’s concerns.

The Prime Minister should have taken responsibility in responding to the Solomon Islands' security pact with China, but...

She has an interest in integrity, leadership and social equity. Doug Dingwall is The Canberra Times' Public Service Editor. He writes about government and federal politics, and edits The Public Sector Informant. He has an interest in integrity and industrial relations. She has an interest in integrity, leadership and social equity. Karen Barlow is ACM's Chief Political Correspondent. Working in the federal press gallery, she investigates and writes about federal politics and government. Doug Dingwall is The Canberra Times' Public Service Editor. He writes about government and federal politics, and edits The Public Sector Informant. He has an interest in integrity and industrial relations. Karen Barlow is ACM's Chief Political Correspondent. Working in the federal press gallery, she investigates and writes about federal politics and government.