China says it has signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, which had faced pressure from nearby Australia, New Zealand and the US to reject the deal.
Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Jeremiah Manele "officially signed an intergovernmental framework agreement on security co-operation the other day", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
"The two sides will conduct co-operation including maintenance of social order, protection and safety of people's lives and property, humanitarian assistance and natural disaster response, to help Solomon Islands strengthen capacity building and safeguard its own security," Wang Wenbin said.
The comments come as Biden administration Asia czar Kurt Campbell plans to lead a delegation of American officials to the South Pacific nation in the coming days, according to a White House statement. The tour will also include Hawaii, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. "The delegation will meet with senior government officials to ensure our partnerships deliver prosperity, security, and peace across the Pacific Islands and the Indo-Pacific," the statement said.
Earlier this month, Australia's Pacific Minister Zed Seselja made an unusual mid-election campaign trip to the Solomon Islands, where he publicly asked the Pacific nation's leadership to "consider" not signing the security pact with Beijing.
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The flurry of diplomacy was sparked by the leaking of a draft agreement in late March between the Chinese government and the Solomon Islands that allowed the deployment of China's security forces in the case of domestic unrest. The agreement also facilitates a safe harbour for Chinese naval vessels just 2000km from the Australian coastline.
Australia and the US have long been concerned about Beijing negotiating a military base in the Pacific, which would allow the Chinese government to operate its forces in much closer proximity to both countries.
Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday, Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the government was concerned about a "lack of transparency" in the security agreement.
But Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has insisted the pact would not allow China to construct a military base and has strongly asserted his country's right to an independent foreign policy.
Wang Wenbin also hit back at Campbell's trip, saying: "We must point out that South Pacific island countries are not a backyard of any country, still less a pawn for geopolitical rivalry."
"Pacific Island countries have the actual need for diversifying their external co-operation and the right to choose their co-operative partners," he said. "Deliberately hyping up tensions and provoking confrontational blocs wins no support and attempts to obstruct co-operation with China is doomed to fail."
