Wong wins guarantee on China military presence from Solomons PM
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has personally reassured Foreign Minister Penny Wong that his country won’t host Chinese military forces.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has personally reassured Foreign Minister Penny Wong that his country won’t host Chinese military forces, just weeks after she branded his security deal with Beijing as Australia’s “worst foreign policy blunder” in modern times.
In her third and toughest Pacific visit so far, Senator Wong met Mr Sogavare in Honiara on Friday to convey the Albanese government’s ongoing concerns over the China pact, and to try to put the countries’ relationship on a more positive footing.
Mr Sogavare, who accused Australia last month of insulting his country and threatening it “with invasion”, told her that Australia remained the Solomon Islands’ security partner of choice.
Senator Wong said on Friday her talks with Mr Sogavare – a longtime critic of Australia – had been “constructive”.
“Obviously, we did talk about regional security. Australia’s view does remain that the Pacific family should be responsible for our security, and the Pacific family is more than capable of providing that,” Senator Wong said.
“I welcome Prime Minister Sogavare’s reassurances there will not be a military base, nor a persistent foreign military presence, here in Solomon Islands.
“And I welcome his assurance that Australia remains Solomon Islands’ first security partner of choice and first development partner of choice.”
Senator Wong declined to meet with Solomon Islands Opposition Leader Matthew Wale during the trip, despite US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s decision to engage with him during his recent visit to the country.
Mr Wale told The Weekend Australian he was “very disappointed” she had continued the Morrison government’s policy of not meeting with the opposition.
“Appeasing Sogavare only encourages him in the opposite direction. He sees Australia is where he wants it to be,” he said.
China revealed during Australia’s election campaign that it had signed the security agreement, claiming it would promote “social stability and long-term peace and security in Solomon Islands”.
But Senator Wong attacked the agreement as a threat to Australia’s security, blaming the Morrison government for what she said was Australia’s “worst foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of World War II”.
Senator Wong sought to shift the dialogue into more positive territory, saying Australia would support the Pacific Island country to build its economy and the quality of life of its people.
“We will work with you on your development, on your health priorities, on your education priorities, on your climate priorities, and on your security priorities, and we have,” she said.
“Under successive governments, we have sought to do that. We may not have been perfect but we are family. We live in the same region. Your security and our security are interlinked. And that is how we will approach our relationship with you.”
During the trip, Senator Wong announced Australia would deliver up to 200,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Solomon Islands children aged five to 11.
Australia has already donated more than 510,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to the country, including 10,000 AstraZeneca doses that arrived last week.
Tensions flared when Scott Morrison warned during the election campaign that any attempt by China to establish a military base in Solomon Islands would be a “red line” for Australia. The US issued a similar warning, saying it would “respond accordingly”.
Mr Sogavare hit back in an extraordinary speech, saying his country had been treated like “kindergarten students walking around with Colt .45s in our hands”.
“We deplore the continual demonstration of lack of trust by the concerned parties, and tacit warning of military intervention in Solomon Islands if their national interest is undermined in Solomon Islands,” he said.
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