Alleged draft Chinese military deal with Solomons leaked to Twitter

The Chinese Navy could use the Solomon Islands, just off Australia’s northeast coast, ‘for its own needs’ if a draft agreement leaked on social media is authentic.

Photographs of what is claimed to be a draft framework agreement on security co-operation between China and the Solomon Islands have been leaked on social media, with one government source saying it is “a big deal” if the two nations are negotiating such a deal.

The images, which were posted on Thursday on Twitter by New Zealand-based international ­security lecturer Dr Anna Powles, include clauses that allow the Solomons government to request China “send police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement” to the island nation to ­“preserve social order”.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

The document in question. Picture: Twitter

In exchange, the purported draft says that China may use the islands according to its “own needs” to make ship visits, have “stopover and transition”, and that “the relevant forces of China can be used to ­protect the safety of Chinese ­personnel and major projects in the Solomon Islands”.

The government of the Solomon Islands, which sit off Australia’s northeast coastline, has lately been making moves to draw closer to China.

Last year the government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare decided to open relations with ­Beijing, sparking riots in the Solomon Islands’ capital of Honiara.

A building burning next to the parliament in Honiara during the rioting in November. Picture: AFP

At the time of the riots, the government blamed “agents of Taiwan” for the rioting sparked by the diplomatic shift.

Dr Powles pointed out in her post that the document also refers to “confidentiality”, and “raises questions about the degree to which the parties will seek to control the political narrative”.

She added that while the authenticity still had not been confirmed, “if it is authentic, it is deeply concerning”.

One government source said the document had yet to be verified but that they were quite probably genuine and, if so, it represented “a big deal” for the region.