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Solomon Islands PM Rules Out China Military Base – Guardian

Solomon Islands PM said his nation would never host a Chinese military base, as that would undermine regional security and make his country “an enemy”


China is negotiating to buy an island in the Solomons, according to an ABC investigation.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hugs Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare at the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji on July 13, 2022. File photo: Joe Armao, pool via Reuters.

 

The Solomon Islands prime minister said on Thursday his nation would never host a Chinese military base because “the moment we establish a foreign military base, we immediately become an enemy” and that would jeopardise regional security and make his country and people “targets for potential military strikes,” a report by The Guardian said on Thursday.

Speaking after a meeting of the Pacific Island Forum at Suva in Fiji, Manasseh Sogavare said Australia was his country’s “security partner of choice” and he would only seek help from China if Australia was not able to meet a request for aid, the report said, adding that the PM welcomed China training local police and supplying police vehicles and drones.

Read the full report: The Guardian.

 

ALSO on AF:

Chinese Officials Told to Leave Pacific Summit – Guardian

Australia Says China Solomons Deal Risks Destabilising Pacific

China-Solomons Pact’s Lack of ‘Transparency’ Worries US

 

 

Jim Pollard

Jim Pollard is an Australian journalist based in Thailand since 1999. He worked for News Ltd papers in Sydney, Perth, London and Melbourne before travelling through SE Asia in the late 90s. He was a senior editor at The Nation for 17+ years.