Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manase Sogawara attends a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, October 9, 2019. REUTERS / Thomas Peter
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SYDNEY, April 29 (Reuters) – The Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China as such a deal with Australia was inadequate, Prime Minister Manase Sogaware said, adding that his country knew the cost of the war and would not be part of any Pacific militarization. .
Addressing parliament on Friday, Sogawara made his first public comments after talks with Indo-Pacific White House Coordinator Kurt Campbell, who visited Hoynara days after the Security Pact was announced with China.
China’s attempts to expand its military influence in the Pacific have alerted Western allies, and the Solomon Security Pact has sparked an election campaign in Australia. Read more
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Although details of the pact with China were not disclosed, Sogaware shut down a military base and said it covered the internal police.
Sogaware said on Friday that a security agreement with China was necessary because the agreement with Australia’s traditional partner was “inadequate”.
Opposition parties have criticized the government’s secrecy over the terms of the pact with Beijing, and Western allies are concerned that it could provide an entrance to China’s military presence. Read more
Australia and New Zealand have warned that the pact could undermine long-standing regional security co-operation. Read more
Sogaware said Campbell and a separate Japanese delegation had warned him not to allow China to build a naval base because it was not in the region’s interest. Sogavare, who had previously said there were no such plans, said he agreed with delegations. Read more
“We don’t need to be reminded of the cost of war,” Sogaware told parliament.
He said the Solomon Islands would never accept the militarization of the Pacific after World War II, and criticized the United States for not including the islands in funding for post-war reconstruction.
Campbell has agreed to speed up the removal of unexploded ordnance from World War II, Sogaware said.
Reiterating comments made by China’s foreign ministry, Sogaware also criticized Australia’s signing of the AUKUS defense alliance with the United States and Britain last year without consulting the Pacific island nations.
“The AUKUS treaty will see nuclear submarines in the waters of the Pacific. I learned about the AUKUS treaty from the media. One would expect that as a member of the Pacific family, the Solomon Islands … will be consulted.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Friday that he spoke with Sogavare the day after the announcement of AUKUS and he did not raise any objections.
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Report by Kirsty Needham; Edited by Simon Cameron-Moore
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