Kushagra Bansal – Mumbai Uncensored, 22thApril 2022
Solomon Islands, a small nation in the South Pacific Ocean recently signed a security pact with China, amid United States’ announcement to send an official to the remote nation under the threat of China trying to build a military base there.
Solomon Island Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare told the parliament that this security pact will not hurt or undermine the national peace and harmony.
This move gives great concerns to the United States, New Zealand, Japan and Australia as this security pact poses a threat of Chinese presence in the Pacific, making the Chinese military only 2000 kilometers away.
After a meeting in Honolulu, the four concerned countries made a statement saying the security pact poses a “serious threat to a free and open Indo-Pacific”
Sogavare said that the details of this pact will be disclosed after a “process” which will only add security and cooperation with China and does not direct at any other country but “rather at our own internal security situation”.
“I ask all our neighbours, friends and partners to respect the sovereign interests of the Solomon Islands on the assurance that the decision will not adversely impact or undermine the peace and harmony of our region,” Sogavare said.
In November, the Solomon Islands saw riots which included burning of buildings and loss of lives. Sogavare mentioned that this pact will ensure no military base in the country, but protection of infrastructure.
In Australia, amid elections, the opposition labor leader Anthony Albanese said that the current Prime Minister Scott Morrison failed to address the Solomon Island’s issue in an effective way and said it was clear that the relationship between the fellow island nations have broken down due to it, allowing Chinese to make their move.
