China’s lease of port island in Pacific rings alarm bells

The lease of an entire island with a deepwater port in Solomon Islands to China has shocked Australia’s security establishment.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare greets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in early October. Picture: Getty Images

A Chinese company’s move to lease an entire island with a deepwater port in Solomon Islands has sent shockwaves through Australia’s security establishment.

Days after Solomon Islands established diplomatic relations with Beijing, the China Sam ­Enterprise Group signed a “strategic co-operation agreement” with a Solomon Islands provincial government to “lease the whole Tulagi Island” for a special economic zone.

Australia’s former high commissioner to Solomon Islands James Batley said the provincial administration had exceeded its authority, while the provincial premier, Stanley Manetiva, backtracked this week, saying the deal was non-binding.

The Australian understands there are “genuine concerns” in the nation’s security establishment at the Chinese push into Solomon Islands, and the susceptibility of the country’s government to inducements from Beijing.

Tulagi Island.

The agreement was signed on September 22 — less than a week after the country’s Sogavare government severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China.

It says the Central Provincial Government is willing to “lease the whole Tulagi Island and the surround (sic) islands to (China Sam Enterprise Group) for the dev­elopment of the ‘Special Economic Zone’ or any other industry that is suitable for any devel­opment, including oil and gas ­development”.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said investment in Solomon Islands was a matter for its government, but “we would view the establishment of any foreign military bases in Pacific island countries with great concern”.

“All parties investing in the ­Pacific should act transparently, uphold international standards and meet the genuine need of citizens of the Pacific,” he said.

The island was a staging point for Japanese forces in World War II, and with sufficient investment and government agreement could be developed as a military base.

China’s interest in the island follows its attempts to redevelop Papua New Guinea’s Lombrum Naval Base, on Manus Island, and a reported deal to establish a military base in Cambodia.

Solomon Islands opposition MP Peter Kenilorea Jr said he was worried the company believed it had secured the rights to develop the island, and work would proceed as the courts slowly attempted to resolve the issue. “The push is what I am concerned about,” Mr Kenilorea told The Australian.

 

“They push ahead and build something and then, by the time a tribunal reaches a decision, they can say: ‘Hey, we had an understanding. I am already here. Are you willing to compensate?’ ”

Mr Kenilorea said the process could also be “weakened by certain inducements”.

Strategic experts said the deal — whether it carried weight or not — was further evidence of China’s strategic intentions in the southwest Pacific.

“There is a clear pattern of China chucking stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks,” La Trobe University’s Euan Graham said.

“These sort of agreements bind you in a relationship that over time gives local elites a stake (in the development). They start to lobby on your behalf; they eventually gain purchase and bingo. It’s not a short game, but that’s the cause for concern.”

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings also expressed concern, saying Chinese government representatives were pushing hard in Honiara to secure new deals.

“Part of it is the view on the part of the Chinese that (Prime Minister Manasseh) Sogavare is in the Chinese camp but probably won’t be there for much longer, so they are just trying to gain whatever short-term advantage they can.”

Mr Batley said provincial governments had limited powers under law, and landowner issues with the agreement would be ­almost insurmountable.