CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – The Australian prime minister on Sunday declined to say how his government could react if China tried to establish a military base less than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) off the Australian coast of Solomon Islands.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a Chinese naval base in a poor island nation in the South Pacific would be a “red line” for both Australia and the United States. His language was reminiscent of President Barack Obama’s 2012 declaration that the use of chemical weapons by Syrian forces would cross a “red line” requiring US military intervention.
Morrison was questioned by a journalist during a campaign debate on a recent security pact between China and the Solomon Islands.
Asked what he meant by the “red line”, he replied: “This means that this is something that Australia believes would be completely against our national interest.”
“We also believe that this will be against the national interest in the Solomon Islands, and we share this view in a similar language with the United States,” Morrison added.
Morrison declined to say whether Australia would try to block any attempt to build a Chinese base. “I think it would be very unwise for any government to speculate on these issues,” he said.
“What is needed in an international environment like this is to be very clear about the positions of the various partners. “This is the position of the United States, and certainly our position, and I believe this is a broader position of the Pacific Islanders,” he said.
The United States has said it will take unspecified action against Solomon if the agreement with China threatens the interests of the United States or its allies.
Solomon’s Prime Minister Manasse Sogaware told parliament last week that opponents of the security pact had threatened his country with an “invasion”.
Regarding the threat of invasion, Morrison said last week: “None of this is true.”
Sogaware said there would be no Chinese base in his country, and China refused to seek a military base on the islands.
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A draft pact that has leaked online says Chinese warships can stop in the Solomon Islands for logistics and China can send police and armed forces there “to help maintain social order.” The Solomon Islands and China have not published the final version of the agreement.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese, who will become prime minister if his center-left Labor party defeats the ruling Conservative coalition in the May 21 election, accused Morrison of “massive foreign policy failures” by allowing a China-Solomon agreement.
Albanese has promised a closer commitment between Australia and its neighboring islands in the South Pacific if Labor wins.
Australia has a bilateral security pact with the Solomon Islands and sent peacekeepers to the capital, Honiara, in November following civil unrest.
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