Australia calls on China to ‘provide transparency’ of intentions with Solomon Islands police pact

Canberra fears the police cooperation plan ‘will invite further regional contest’ in the Pacific, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s office said

New Zealand’s foreign ministry also expressed unease. Solomon Islands PM visited Beijing this week to sign a raft of deals – including the police pact

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The national flags of Solomon Islands and China flutter near the Tiananmen Gate on Tuesday. Beijing has lavished attention on the Pacific nation since it severed ties with Taiwan in 2019. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:35am, 12 Jul 2023Updated: 5:19pm, 12 Jul 2023

Australia and New Zealand have urged China to release the details of a new policing pact with Solomon Islands, saying Beijing’s latest push for influence threatens to inflame tensions in the South Pacific.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare signed a raft of deals during a trip to the Chinese capital this week, including an agreement allowing China to maintain a police presence in the developing Pacific nation until 2025.

Beijing has lavished attention on Solomon Islands since it severed ties with Taiwan in 2019, pledging large amounts of aid and bankrolling a series of critical infrastructure projects.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s office said on Tuesday there were concerns that the police cooperation plan between Solomon Islands and China “will invite further regional contest”.

Chinese police liaison officers train with officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force last year. The Pacific nation’s leader signed an agreement this week allowing China to maintain a police presence there until 2025. Photo: RSIPF Handout via AFP

“Solomon Islands and China should provide transparency of their intentions to Australia and the region by publishing the agreement immediately, so the Pacific family can collectively consider the implications for our shared security,” the statement said.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed unease. “We would like the text to be made public in order to understand any security implications for the region,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.