Australia ‘very aware’ of China plans for Solomon Islands wharves, says PM Morrison
- A four-page draft maritime cooperation agreement between China and the Solomon Islands was leaked to an Australian newspaper this year
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he’s concerned about the ‘intrusion’ of the Chinese government, and what it could mean for security in the southwest Pacific
Australia’s prime minister said on Monday he was aware of China’s ambitions in the southwest Pacific after a newspaper reported plans by Beijing to build wharves, shipyards and underwater cables in the Solomon Islands.
The Australian newspaper published a leaked four-page draft maritime cooperation agreement between China and the Solomon Islands dated this year. That follows the recent confirmation by China and the Pacific island nation that they have signed a separate security agreement that the United States and its allies fear could lead to a Chinese naval base less than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the Australian coast.
Security experts suspect that maritime infrastructure built under the latest draft memorandum of understanding would be used by the Chinese military.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government was not surprised by the reported draft agreement to develop “port wharves, submarine optical cable construction, shipbuilding and ship repair.”
“We’re very aware of what the Chinese government’s ambitions are in the Pacific, whether it be in relation to facilities such as that or naval bases or other presence of their military in the Pacific,” Morrison told reporters.
“I am very concerned, as many other Pacific leaders are, about the interference and intrusion of the Chinese government into these types of arrangements and what that can mean for the peace, stability and security of the southwest Pacific,” Morrison added.
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China confirms signing of Solomon Islands security pact, as US warns of regional instability
Solomon Islands opposition lawmaker Peter Kenilorea Jnr said his father, Peter Kenilorea, the independent country’s first prime minister from 1978 until 1981, would be “upset” by current Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s use of China to “leverage” more from other countries.