Anthony Albanese to chew the fat with Solomons leader

Anthony Albanese will meet Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Canberra on Thursday.

Anthony Albanese greets Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare at the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji in July. Picture: AFP

Anthony Albanese will meet Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Canberra on Thursday, amid ongoing bilateral tensions over the Pacific leader’s close relationship with China. The two are due to have formal talks and dine together at The Lodge.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles will also meet with the Solomons’ leader.

It’s expected Mr Sogavare will decline the opportunity for a joint press conference with the Prime Minister that typically occurs during official leaders’ visits.

Mr Sogavare was due to arrive in Canberra early on Thursday on an RAAF flight, after flying into Brisbane on Wednesday.

His visit comes weeks after he successfully extended his term as leader in a controversial parliamentary vote, and lashed Australia’s offer of financial support to stage the country’s next election.

Mr Sogavare has also accused Australia and the US of treating Solomon Islanders like dangerous children, after their vehement objections to his security agreement with Beijing.

Mr Albanese, who last met with Mr Sogavare in July at the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji, said Australia’s relationship with Solomon Islands was “incredibly important”.

“As members of the Pacific family, we are committed to working together to face our shared challenges and achieve our shared goals, including on climate change. I look forward to engaging with Prime Minister Sogavare on building a strong and prosperous Pacific region, based on principles of transparency, respect and partnership.”

Solomon Islands’ Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele recently joined 11 Pacific Island leaders to sign a declaration of partnership with the US, after initially refusing.

Mr Manele this week said he had concerns the original wording of the declaration, which followed a meeting between Pacific Island leaders and US President Joe Biden, would have forced Solomon Islands to choose between America and China.

Mr Sogavare’s visit comes after new research this week found Chinese Communist Party propagandists blunted anti-­Chinese sentiment in Solomon Islands and boosted criticism of Australia and the West by spreading false narratives in the country following last year’s riots in the capital, Honiara, and the Solomons’ subsequent security pact with China.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute research found a Chinese disinformation campaign gained traction with print and online claims that Australia, the US and Taiwan instigated the riots, and that the security agreement with China was a necessary response to “colonialist bullies”.

Peter Dutton said China was “notorious” for such disinfor­mation campaigns.