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The prime minister of the Solomon Islands said Tuesday that a contentious security agreement with Beijing was “ready for signing,” denying reports that his country was under pressure to allow a Chinese naval base to be built on the Pacific island nation. In an impassioned speech to parliament, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said there was “no intention whatsoever… to ask China to maintain a military base in the Solomon Islands.” He denied reports in the Australian media that China was pressuring his country to build the base. “What’s the source of that nonsense? The Solomon Islands government has requested that the security treaty be pursued “He stated.
“Our new friends put no pressure on us in any way.”
A draught version of the agreement, which was leaked last week, sent shockwaves through Canberra because it included proposals that would allow China to deploy security and naval forces to the Pacific nation.
When asked about the status of the agreement in parliament, Sogavare stated: “We will now finalize and conclude. The document is now ready for signature.”
This week, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the deal was “a reminder of the constant pressures and threats that present in our region to our own national security.”
Morrison said he had spoken with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who called the draught agreement “gravely concerning” this week.
However, Beijing dismissed all concerns on Tuesday, calling the agreement “beyond reproach.”
During a routine briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin expressed China’s hope that “relevant countries can earnestly respect the Solomon Islands’ sovereignty… instead of condescendingly trusting that they have the right to tell the Solomon Islands what it should or should not do.”
‘Irresponsible’
Sogavare said in his speech on Tuesday that existing security arrangements with Australia would “remain intact” under the new pact with China, but that “to achieve our security needs, it is clear that we need to diversify the country’s relationship with other countries – and what is wrong with that?”
The possibility of a Chinese naval base in the South Pacific has long been a source of concern for Australia and the United States, as it would allow Beijing to project its power further into the region.
Sogavare described “many leaders'” concern about China’s presence threatening regional security as “unfortunate perceptions.”
He called it “very insulting… to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs” by other countries and called those who leaked the draught pact with China “lunatics and agents of foreign regimes.”
