SYDNEY (REUTERS) - An Australian minister met with the leader of the Solomon Islands on Wednesday (April 13) and asked him not to sign a proposed security agreement between the Pacific islands nation and China that Australia opposes.
Despite a national election campaign putting the Australian government in "caretaker" mode, when ministers traditionally avoid diplomatic engagement with international governments, Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja visited Honiara with the support of Australia’s main opposition Labor Party.
"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," Mr Seselja said in a statement after meeting with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and other ministers.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday that the security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands was not targeted at any third party and did not contradict the cooperation the Pacific nation has with other countries.
Australia should "respect the sovereign and independent choices made by China and the Solomons and not instigate confrontation," Mr Zhao said.
Officials from China and Solomon Islands have initialled but not yet signed a security pact that Australia, New Zealand, United States and some Pacific islands neighbours have criticised as undermining regional stability.
Australia is Solomon Islands top development partner and would allocate A$160 million (S$162.31 million) in support this year, Mr Seselja added.
"We welcome recent statements from Prime Minister Sogavare that Australia remains Solomon Islands security partner of choice, and his commitment that Solomon Islands will never be used for military bases or other military institutions of foreign powers," he said.
On Tuesday, a leaked memo surfaced on social media showing the Chinese government had told the Solomon Islands in December it wanted to send a security team of 10 Chinese police with weapons including a sniper rifle, machines guns and electrical listening devices to protect embassy staff in the wake of riots in Honiara in November. The memo was widely reported by Australian media.
The Solomon Islands government said in a statement on Wednesday no Chinese guns had entered the country other than a shipment of replica weapons used by Chinese police training officers.
The December request by the Chinese embassy was "held in abeyance" as the government continued to monitor the security situation after the November riots saw buildings burned, the statement from Mr Sogavare’s office said.
"It was a dark chapter in Solomon Islands history where local Police Forces were overstretched during the riot period and as a State we were not in a position to guarantee safety and security of resident diplomatic personnel in particular the People’s Republic of China’s diplomats."
Australian police were sent to Solomon Islands after the riots, and Mr Seselja said they had been successful in restoring calm, acting under the direction of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.
A separate leaked draft of a security pact with China last month showed it would allow Chinese police to protect companies and infrastructure, and allow naval vessels to replenish in Honiara.
Canberra is concerned the security agreement, which is not public, could be a step towards a Chinese military presence less than 2,000km from Australia.
