Minister Zed Seselja’s Solomon Islands dash to stymie deal with China

Minister for the Pacific Zed ­Seselja has flown to the Solomon Islands in a last-ditch bid to convince their Prime Minister not to sign a security pact with Beijing.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Damukana Sogavare with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019. Picture: AFP

Minister for the Pacific Zed ­Seselja has flown to the Solomon Islands in a last-ditch bid to convince Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare not to sign a security pact with Beijing that could open the way for a Chinese base 2000km off Australia’s coast.

Mr Seselja departed Australia on Tuesday afternoon, hours after The Australian revealed the Solomon Islands government ­expressed “no objection” to a Chinese bid to import more than 20 automatic weapons into the country, including two machine guns, to arm a secret 10-person ­security unit.

The Chinese request was made in early December amid negotiations between the Chinese and Solomon Islands governments on the new security agreement.

The extraordinary visit during the election caretaker period came after Scott Morrison ­expressed concern over the “possible rotation” of Chinese navy vessels through Solomon Islands’ ports under the security deal.

“That’s a serious issue that we’ll continue to press. At the same time, we must always ­respect the fact that Solomon ­Islands is a sovereign country,” the Prime Minister said.

Anthony Albanese said a Labor government would have done more than “sit back and do nothing”. “Why wasn’t a minister dispatched to the Solomons?” the Opposition Leader said before Mr Seselja’s trip was announced.

Leaked documents reveal the Chinese embassy sought ­approval for each member of a plainclothes security team to be armed with a 9mm automatic pistol and an automatic rifle. Two machine guns and a sniper rifle were also on the list of weapons to be imported, together with ­ammunition for all of the guns.

It said the armed team was ­required to protect the Chinese embassy following riots in the capital in November.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The embassy said all of the ­security personnel would hold diplomatic passports – giving them immunity from prosecution under local laws – with the official status of “attache of the Chinese mission”.

“The deployment of the security team will not be made public by the Chinese side,” it said.

The Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade said it had “no objection to the request”, noting local police “could not guarantee the safety of the embassy and staff” during ­November riots in Honiara that targeted Chinese interests.

A press statement issued by Mr Sogavare’s office on Tuesday warned of “fake news”, saying “there is nothing to be concerned about”. But it did not deny the weapons were allowed into the country.

Mr Seselja said he would meet with Mr Sogavare during the two-day trip to discuss the security agreement, and hoped “to further strengthen Australia’s relationship” with the country.

“We look forward to ongoing engagement with Solomon ­Islands, and with our Pacific family members, on these very ­important issues,” he said. “Our view remains that the ­Pacific ­family will continue to meet the security needs of our region.”

He will also meet with Australian Defence Force and Australian Federal Police serving in the capital as a security assistance force.

Solomon Islands Opposition Leader Matthew Wale said ­Australia needed to become smarter in its diplomacy with Mr Sogavare.

“The problem has long been that Australian government officials have worked as if Sogavare is trustworthy,” he said.

“This emboldened him to think he can make decisions with regional implications with little consequence. He is exploiting the limits of what democratic governments like Australia can do to stop him.”

Mr Seselja will be followed in Solomon Islands later this month by Joe Biden’s national security co-ordinator for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell, who will also urge Mr Sogavare not to progress the security agreement.

But Mr Sogavare has branded Western criticism of the deal as “insulting” and said he is determined to sign the pact.

He earlier ignored high-level intelligence briefings from two of Australia’s top spies – Office of National Assessments director-general Andrew Shearer and Australian Secret ­Intelligence Service Paul Symon – who travelled to the Solomon Islands to warn of the agreement’s security ramifications.