Solomon Islands PM meets Australian, NZ leaders over China pact
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Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (left) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meet at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva on July 13, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
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SUVA, Fiji (REUTERS, AFP) - The Solomon Islands prime minister met counterparts from Australia and New Zealand for the first time on Wednesday (July 13) since striking a security pact with China that sparked concern among US allies over Beijing's military ambitions in the Pacific islands.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern in separate bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji.
During the four-day meeting, Pacific island leaders will discuss how to gather more international support and funding to fight the impact of rising sea levels and climate change, as well as China's aim for greater security ties in the region.
The Solomon Islands security pact with China became a major election issue in Australia. Albanese said it was a failing of diplomacy by his predecessor Scott Morrison.
"We are family and there are many issues, and that makes family stronger," Sogavare said, after hugging Albanese.
Details of the pact have not been disclosed, but Sogavare has ruled out allowing China to have a military base and said the deal covered policing to protect Chinese projects because an agreement with traditional partner Australia was "inadequate".
Albanese said Australia and the Solomon Islands could to more to build trust and "for joint benefit".
"As members of the region we want to advance the interests of the Pacific," he said.
Meanwhile, the United States launched a major push into the Pacific Wednesday, with Vice President Kamala Harris announcing the opening of two new embassies at the regional summit.
Washington will open missions in Tonga and Kiribati and also appoint its first-ever Pacific regional envoy, Harris said as she pledged US$600 million (S$844 million) in funding for the region in her address to the Pacific Islands Forum.
The video-link appearance was a diplomatic coup for the United States, with China’s attempts to secure a meeting on the sidelines of the summit rebuffed.
The forum marks the first time Pacific leaders have met since the Solomon Islands signed the controversial security pact with China.
Washington will open missions in Tonga and Kiribati and also appoint its first-ever Pacific regional envoy, Harris said as she pledged US$600 million (S$844 million) in funding for the region in her address to the Pacific Islands Forum.
The video-link appearance was a diplomatic coup for the United States, with China’s attempts to secure a meeting on the sidelines of the summit rebuffed.
The forum marks the first time Pacific leaders have met since the Solomon Islands signed the controversial security pact with China.
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni told AFP his country was “really happy that the US will be opening an embassy in Tonga, it will be the first time”.
“It is a big milestone. We are very happy we are finally having a US presence in Tonga,” he said.
Forum secretary general Henry Puna also welcomed Harris’ announcements, calling them “a breath of fresh air”.
“We have a long history of association and friendship with the US. But in recent years, they’ve gone missing from the region,” he told AFP.
“It is a big milestone. We are very happy we are finally having a US presence in Tonga,” he said.
Forum secretary general Henry Puna also welcomed Harris’ announcements, calling them “a breath of fresh air”.
“We have a long history of association and friendship with the US. But in recent years, they’ve gone missing from the region,” he told AFP.
