Australia-China relations: Solomon Islands faces pressure over security pact as US weighs in, Scott Morrison sends minister amid election campaign

Honiara maintains that there are no plans for China to build a military base in the Pacific nation and has called Canberra’s comments on the pact ‘insulting’

Analysts say the incident reveals flaws in Australia’s approach to its ties with the region, with one former diplomat calling it the final ‘nail in the coffin’

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison dispatched a junior minister to meet with officials in the Solomon Islands. Photo: AP

Published: 4:00am, 14 Apr 2022Updated: 4:41am, 14 Apr 2022

Australia’s appeal to the Solomon Islands on Wednesday to step away from a pact with China has laid bare Canberra’s scramble to show it is in control of regional security, amid inadequate efforts to burnish ties with its Pacific island neighbours, analysts said.

Zed Seselja, a junior minister in the cabinet of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison who is in the midst of campaigning for a tough re-election, went to the Solomon Islands’ capital of Honiara, where he met Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and other officials.

“Australia respects Solomon Islands’ right to make sovereign decisions about its national security,” Seselja said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have asked Solomon Islands respectfully to consider not signing the agreement and to consult the Pacific family in the spirit of regional openness and transparency, consistent with our region’s security frameworks.”

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (left), with Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja in Honiara on Wednesday. Photo: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia Handout via Reuters

While details of the pact have not been revealed by either side, a leaked draft showed Chinese naval vessels would be allowed to dock in the country and Beijing would be able to deploy police, armed forces and military personnel to the Pacific nation.

This has raised alarm bells over the possibility of a Chinese military presence about 2,000km (1,200 miles) from Australia.

The US signalled its concern on Tuesday with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaking to Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele about plans for a US embassy there and “joint efforts to broaden and deepen engagement”. Kurt Campbell, the National Security Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, is expected to visit Honiara later this month.