A top US diplomat has ruled out Washington taking military action if China established a military base on the Solomon Islands.
The State Department official, Daniel Kritenbrink, said the US respects the Solomon Islands’ sovereignty, but warned against China’s presence in the region, saying the United States would “very naturally respond to those concerns,” an AP report reads.
Blinken said the State Department sent a high-level delegation to the Solomon Islands, where it plans to open an embassy. "We share the concern about this agreement," Blinken told Reuters.
The US delegation met with the islands' prime minister, who vowed there would be no Chinese military base on the island, he said."We will be watching that very, very closely in the weeks and months ahead," Blinken said.
A senior member in the government of the Solomon Islands has expressed concerns that a security deal between China and the Solomons could enable Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to stay in power for years to come. PM Sogavare could use Chinese armed police and military personnel to quash dissent.
An advisor to the Premier of Malaita province, Daniel Suidani, Celsus Irokwato Talifilu fears that the PM could use the Chinese police and military personnel to force citizens of the island nation to vote for him in the next elections leading to the erosion of democracy.
Talifilu told the Guardian, “My main fear is (Chinese military or police personnel) put (Sogavare) in power for a long time,” he said. “People say we are a democratic country, of course, it is. But when you have a force bigger than anyone else in the Solomons, it will be easy for him to use that force to support him and his ministers or those who are in government to ensure they come back at the next elections.”
A senior Australian minister on Wednesday suggested that China had deliberately announced its security pact with the Solomon Islands during an election campaign to undermine her government's chances of re-election.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews' accusation is consistent with her conservative Liberal Party's argument that Beijing wants the centre-left Labour Party to win the May 21 election because Labour lawmakers were less likely to stand up to Chinese economic coercion.
Labour has described the government's inability to prevent the deal announced by the Chinese and Solomons governments last week as Australia's biggest foreign policy failure in the Pacific since World War II.
Andrews who is responsible for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the nation's main domestic spy agency, and has access to classified secrets from other intelligence agencies said Australians should be taking notice of and paying some attention to the timing of the Solomons announcements.
Beijing is clearly very aware that we're in a federal election campaign here at the moment. Why now? Why right in the middle of a federal election campaign is all this coming to light? Andrews told Brisbane Radio 4BC.
The 'secret' security deal between China and the Solomon Islands was signed last week. The deal says China is meant to “assist in maintaining social order, protecting people's lives, and property providing humanitarian assistance, carrying out disaster response or providing assistance in other tasks agreed upon by the parties." Further Chinese ships could dock at Solomon Islands ports under the provisions of the deal, although, for "logistical replenishment.”
--With PTI inputs
