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China’s bid for Pacific Islands security pact should be considered in regional forum, says Samoan PM
- Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum members are due meet in July in Fiji, after they were caught off guard by the Solomon Islands’ security pact with China
- NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says: ‘As a forum we will come together, we’ll discuss these issues, we’ll of course, hopefully build consensus’
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China’s bid to set up a security pact with Pacific island countries should be considered by a regional forum, the leaders of Samoa and New Zealand said on Tuesday, weeks after Solomon Islands sparked uproar by signing a deal with China.
The Pacific Islands and their old allies, including the United States, Australia and New Zealand, were caught off guard by the Solomon Islands’ security pact with China as it pushes to expand its influence in the region.
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China’s proposed security deal with Pacific islands falls short as Wang Yi tours region
China’s proposed security deal with Pacific islands falls short as Wang Yi tours region
“The issues need to be considered in the broader context of what we have in place and what we want to do in terms of security provisions for the region,” Samoa’s prime minister, Fiame Naomi Mata‘afa, told a news conference with her New Zealand counterpart, referring to the Pacific Islands Forum.
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Leaders of the forum’s members are due meet in mid-July in Fiji, their first in-person gathering since 2019.
China has dismissed criticism of its pact with Solomon Islands, saying it poses no military threat and that closer ties benefit everyone, and is promoting a proposal for a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific countries covering policing, security and data communication cooperation.
Pacific leaders discussed the proposal with a top Chinese official last month but they have not agreed to it.
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