Australia-China relations: Canberra’s foreign minister Penny Wong to travel to Solomon Islands amid China security pact concerns

Name: China’s proposed security deal with Pacific islands falls short as Wang Yi tours region
Uploaded: 2022-06-15T03:41:32.000Z
Duration: 1 min 59 s
Description: China’s proposed security deal with Pacific islands falls short as Wang Yi tours region

Penny Wong described the deal between the Solomon Islands and China as Australia’s greatest foreign policy failure since World War II

Australia and New Zealand had traditionally been seen as the partners of choice in the region, but China has been making diplomatic inroads in recent years

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced her third visit to the Pacific in a month, the latest diplomatic step-up by Canberra in the region as the Chinese government also seeks to expand its influence. Photo: Handout/Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs/AFP

Reuters

Published: 11:41am, 15 Jun 2022Updated: 12:04pm, 15 Jun 2022

Australia’s foreign minister will travel to the Solomon Islands on Friday to meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare amid concern over the regional impact of a security deal between the Pacific islands nation and China.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a news release that she would travel to the Solomon Islands and New Zealand, in her third visit to the Pacific since being sworn in last month.

Australia was committed to deepening cooperation with the Solomon Islands on shared challenges including climate change, and Wong would meet with Sogavare, the statement said.

“I look forward to discussing the ways we can continue to make progress on pandemic recovery, economic development and labour mobility priorities, and addressing our shared security interests,” she said.

The Solomon Islands security pact, as well as a proposal by China for a sweeping security and trade agreement with 10 Pacific islands nations, will be discussed at next month’s Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Suva, several island nations have said.

Wong described the deal between the Solomon Islands and China as Australia’s greatest foreign policy failure since World War II. Since she was sworn in a month ago, Wong has embarked on a flurry of diplomacy across the Pacific, including visits to Fiji and Samoa.

01:59

China’s proposed security deal with Pacific islands falls short as Wang Yi tours region

Australia and New Zealand had traditionally been seen as the partners of choice in the region, but China has been making diplomatic inroads in recent years.