Australia-China relations: Solomon Islands may lean less on the West with new pact, but at what cost?

The Solomon Islands’ new security pact with China was driven by the inability of the West to adequately address the country’s development needs, analysts say

While closer ties with Beijing will mean the Pacific nation need not ‘obey orders’ from Australia, there are concerns the pact will be used to curb domestic dissent

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A view of Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 4:00am, 23 Apr 2022Updated: 8:09am, 23 Apr 2022

The Solomon Islands’ new security pact with China should be a cause for concern for its 680,000 citizens, given suggestions it was rushed by the Honiara government with little consultation and the potential for it to be abused to curb domestic dissent, analysts say.

Nonetheless, the deal happened due to the inability of the Pacific nation’s traditional benefactor states – in particular Australia – in addressing long-standing concerns about underdevelopment and in mitigating climate change, the observers said.

The sharp focus the Solomons has come under due to the pact was underscored on Friday, as the senior White House official Kurt Campbell arrived in the country after discussing concerns about it with neighbouring Fiji and Papua New Guinea this week.

The US and Canberra have expressed concerns that the pact could lead to China gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific. Beijing and the Honiara government confirmed the deal had been signed this week but the actual text has not been released.

National flags of the Solomon Islands and China flutter in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Causing particular alarm to the US and its Western allies was a draft leaked last month that showed it would allow China to deploy naval assets to the Pacific nation.

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Wednesday said his government had signed the pact “with our eyes open”, but refused to say when the text of the deal might be published. He ruled out the prospect of China building a military base in the country.