Solomon Islands mulls security ties with China, signs MOU
- Agreement would cover policing; wider proposal to include military assisting on social order, disaster response, and protecting the safety of Chinese personnel
- The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, which partly fuelled discontent that led to riots in the capital, Honiara, in November 2021
The Solomon Islands has signed a policing deal with China and will send a proposal for a broader security agreement covering the military to its cabinet for consideration, an official of the Pacific island nation’s government said on Thursday.
The arrangements are likely to concern the United States, which said in February it would open an embassy in the Solomon Islands after senior US administration officials expressed concern China wanted to create military relationships in the Pacific islands.
The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, which partly fuelled discontent that led to riots in the capital, Honiara, in November.
Australia has historically provided security support to the Solomon Islands and led a policing mission to restore order in the wake of riots, at the request of prime minister Manasseh Sogavare.
Karen Galokale, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services in the Solomon Islands, said a cooperation agreement signed between the Solomon Islands and China covered policing. She confirmed a wider agreement was being discussed.
“Any other arrangement on broad security would be just the same as the Australian agreement,” she said in a telephone interview, giving the first public confirmation of the broader security talks. “It will have to go to Cabinet,” she said.
Australia has a bilateral security agreement with the Solomon Islands covering the deployment of police and armed forces, signed in 2018.