Document indicates China could boost military in Solomons

The Solomon Islands revealed on March 25 that it had signed a policing cooperation agreement with China

A leaked document indicates that China could boost its military presence in the Solomon Islands — including with ship visits — in a development that is raising alarm in nearby Australia and beyond. The Solomon Islands revealed on March 25 that it had signed a policing cooperation agreement with China.

But more concerning to Australia was the draft text of a broader security arrangement that was leaked online. Under the terms of the draft agreement, China could send police, military personnel and other armed forces to the Solomons “to assist in maintaining social order” and for a variety of other reasons. It could also send ships to the islands for stopovers and to replenish supplies.

The draft agreement stipulates that China would need to sign off on any information that’s released about joint security arrangements, including at media briefings. Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in international security at New Zealand's Massey University, said Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. would all be “very concerned” about the draft agreement, which was ambitious on China's part.

Ms. Powles said it would be interesting to know what kind of goods China might want to send to the Solomons to service its ships and whether there was the potential for mission creep in the future, like China developing a naval base. She said she was concerned China was trying to direct the political narrative by controlling what information could be publicly released.

A lot of the wording in the draft agreement was vague, Ms. Powles said, including exactly what type of military and paramilitary forces that China might send to the Solomons. She said it was either clumsily worded or deliberately opaque.

Without directly addressing the content of the draft agreement, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement saying “We would be concerned by any actions that destabilise the security of our region.” The department said that after riots last year in the Solomon Islands' capital, Honiara, Australia and its neighbours had been able to send security assistance “without the need for external support.” “Pacific Island nations have the right to make sovereign decisions,” the department said.