
Solomon Islands leader defends possible China security deal, calls backlash 'very insulting'
CNN
The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands on Tuesday defended the country's possible security deal with China, hitting back at critics and calling their protests "very insulting."
The Pacific Island nation confirmed last week it would expand its security relationship with China -- prompting alarm from regional leaders wary of Beijing's growing reach.
"We find it very insulting to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs," Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said in Parliament Tuesday, addressing the international backlash. "Our security approach is not done in a vacuum and not without due consideration to all our partners."

The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.












