By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia said the Solomon Islands and China should “provide transparency of their intentions to Australia and the region” by immediately publishing details of a policing deal signed in Beijing.
The police cooperation pact was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.
A spokesperson for Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was aware of reports referencing a policing implementation plan linked to a deal signed between China and Solomon Islands in March 2022.
“We are concerned that this development will invite further regional contest,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Solomon Islands and China should provide transparency of their intentions to Australia and the region by publishing the agreement immediately, so the Pacific family can collectively consider the implications for our shared security.”
Australia had expressed strong concern at the prospect of China’s security presence in Solomon Islands in 2022, when a security pact was struck between those two countries. That deal prompted Pacific Island nations to agree to a “Pacific family first” approach to security, the statement said.
Last month, Sogavare called for a review of a 2017 security treaty with Australia, which has historically provided policing support to the Solomon Islands, including the rapid deployment of police in 2021 to quell riots.
China has increased its police training in Solomon Islands in recent months. The deal signed in Beijing on Monday will allow for a police presence until 2025.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Edmund Klamann)
