Solomon Islands PM meets Australian, NZ leaders over China deal

• The Solomon Islands and New Zealand have signed a security treaty with China, which has aroused anxiety among US allies over Beijing’s military intentions in the Pacific.
• Australia’s election candidates were forced to address the topic of China’s security arrangement with the Solomon Islands on the margins of the Pacific Islands Forum.

SUVA: The Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare met with his Australian and New Zealand counterparts for the first time since signing a security treaty with China, which has aroused anxiety among US allies over Beijing’s military intentions in the Pacific islands.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Fijian Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in separate bilateral sessions on the margins of the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji.

China wants to improve security ties with the Pacific area, and leaders of Pacific islands will use the four-day meeting to talk about how to get more international help and money to fight the effects of rising sea levels and climate change.

Australia’s election candidates were forced to address the topic of China’s security arrangement with the Solomon Islands.

Albanese said that Scott Morrison, who was in charge before him, was to blame because he was not diplomatic enough.

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Sogavare remarked, “We are family, and there are many issues, and that makes family stronger.”

Sogavare has ruled out enabling China to have a military post and stated that the agreement includes policing to protect Chinese investments because a previous arrangement with longstanding ally Australia was “inadequate.”

Albanese said that Australia and the Solomon Islands could do more “for the benefit of both” to build trust between them.

“As members of the region we want to advance the interests of the Pacific,” he stated.

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