SYDNEY - Australian elections are usually fought on bread-and-butter issues such as health, education and taxes, but the current campaign has suddenly become dominated by the affairs of the Solomon Islands, a small island nation in the South Pacific.

The move by the Solomon Islands government to sign a security deal with China has caused deep concern in Canberra, which is worried about the possibility of a Chinese naval base less than 2,000km from the Australian coastline. But the timing of the deal has ensured that it is not only a national security issue in Australia but is also proving to be a divisive domestic political one.