Australia’s Scott Morrison says he’ll ‘ensure’ no China base on Solomon Islands
- China’s growing clout in the Pacific has become a hot political issue in Australia ahead of May 21 elections
- The China-Solomons deal has not been publicly released but a leaked draft alarmed countries in the region, particularly sections that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomons
Australia will work with its allies to ensure China does not set up a military base in the Solomon Islands, Prime Minister Scott Morrison vowed on Sunday during a heated pre-election debate.
China’s growing clout in the Pacific has become a hot political issue in Australia ahead of May 21 elections, following Beijing’s announcement last month that it had signed a security pact with the Solomons.
The China-Solomons deal has not been publicly released but a leaked draft alarmed countries in the region, particularly sections that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomons – less than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from Australia.
Morrison, whose conservative government is trailing the opposition in latest opinion polls, has been criticised for failing to prevent China from signing the deal in a region where Australia has traditionally had great influence.
Opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese described it in the televised debate as a “massive foreign policy failure”.
The prime minister has warned that establishing a Chinese military base in the Solomons would be crossing a “red line”.
Pressed during the debate on what that red line means, Morrison said: “Australia would work with partners to ensure that that type of an outcome would be prevented.”
