Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta says it is important the Pacific region looks to itself in terms of support for security agreements and not to countries outside the region.
The Minister was referring to a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands that was reportedly signed earlier this month.
No specific details were revealed about the deal, but a draft version leaked in March sparked fears a Chinese naval base could be established in the Solomons. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare later said that wasn't the intention.
The news was met with widespread concern from the Solomon Islands' Pacific partners and from the US.
In a meeting last week, US National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell conveyed Washington DC's concerns with the treaty.
Campbell told Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare the United States respected the right of nations to make sovereign decisions but warned if steps are taken by China to establish a de facto permanent military presence in the country the United States would have significant concerns and respond accordingly RNZ reported.
Mahuta previously said such a deal would be "concerning", While Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern while in Singapore said there was no need for an agreement between China and The Solomon Islands.
"[We] have continued to reiterate with the Solomons and China our view, alongside the Pacific, that collectively we are ready and available to meet the security needs of our neighbours," Ardern said.
READ MORE
- US warns against allowing Chinese military base in Solomon Islands
- US warns of response to any move toward permanent China presence in Solomon Islands
- China-Solomons deal crosses a 'very clear line' - Ardern
- Solomons-China security deal could inflame tensions says MP
"We see no need for this agreement. We are concerned about the militarisation of the Pacific and we continue to call on the Solomons to work with the Pacific with any concerns around their security that they may have."
Speaking to Newshub Nation on Saturday Mahuta said the Government has voiced its concern around the agreement.
"While there's no full visibility on what the agreement entails, we've said regional security interests are a matter for the region to discuss. We are concerned there is a potential of militarization of the Pacific through perhaps setting up of a base," she told Newshub Nation host Rebecca Wright.
"The Prime Minister has since said that that is not the case and they'll have to be held to account with all of the Pacific around that type of undertaking.
"But it is important that the Pacific looks to each other first in terms of support for security agreements."
Mahuta said the Victoria Declaration puts an obligation on the Pacific countries to be the first port of call for response on security issues in the region.
"We only need to look to the Solomon Islands and the way in which Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia responded to the most recent unrest.
"To be able to demonstrate that we are there for each other, we support each other and it's important that we look within the Pacific before looking outside of the Pacific for the nature of those types of agreements," Mahuta told Newshub Nation.
