Australia-China relations: PM Morrison accuses Beijing of ‘interfering’ in the Pacific as Solomon Islands saga continues

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused Beijing of interfering in the Indo-Pacific after it signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands and he attacked opposition rival Anthony Albanese for “taking China’s side”.

In the first public debate between Morrison and Albanese on Tuesday evening ahead of the country’s May 21 general election, the Prime Minister defended his government’s foreign policy towards its Pacific Island neighbours, insisting it was not a failure.

He was responding to the opposition Labor party’s accusation that the new pact was the result of Australia’s worst foreign policy blunder in decades because Morrison had failed to send the highest-level minister to manage the situation in the Solomon Islands.

Australian observers fear the pact could increase the prospect of Chinese military presence in a region that is just under 2000 kilometres away. China’s increased activity in the South China Sea has had everyone in Canberra up in arms in recent years.

The security deal that China signed with the Solomon Islands on Tuesday would allow it to help the island nation maintain social order, protect lives and property and provide humanitarian aid.