Japan voices concern over China-Solomon Islands security deal

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Japan said on Tuesday that it has voiced concern over the security deal that the Solomon Islands signed with China, saying it could “affect the security of the whole Pacific region.”

“Our nation is monitoring (the situation) with concern,” Japanese Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Kentaro Uesugi told Manasseh Sogavare, prime minister of the South Pacific nation, said Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Uesugi traveled to Honiara on Monday for a three-day trip to convey Tokyo’s concern over its security deal signed with Beijing.

China confirmed last week it signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, a country in Oceania comprising six major islands and over 900 smaller islands to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.

Under the deal, China will help the Solomon Islands enhance its security and provide the latest equipment to the police force to enable them to deal with any future instability. Honiara established its diplomatic ties with Beijing in 2019 after snapping ties with self-ruled Taiwan which China sees as its “breakaway province.”

The move has triggered a chain reaction from Australia, New Zealand, and the US. Japan also joined its allies by sending the official to personally convey the concerns.

Sogavare defended the decision and asked his neighboring countries to respect the nation’s sovereignty and assured them that his government's security agreement with China will have no negative impact on the region.

He said his country has made a sovereign decision to broaden its security cooperation with more countries.

Hayashi told a news conference in Tokyo that Sogavare explained the Solomon Islands’ stance “based on the view that it has maintained that it has no intention of allowing China to build military bases.”

- Security deal not for military base, says China

Beijing has defended the security deal with the Solomon Islands and said it is “based on equality and mutual benefits.”

“It is within the sovereignty of our two countries and consistent with the international law and international customary practice. The cooperation is open, transparent, legitimate, lawful, and irreproachable,” Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.

He added any speculation that China will build a military base in the Solomon Islands “is pure disinformation fabricated by a handful of people who harbor ulterior motives.”

The Chinese official further said: “The US and Australia accuse the framework agreement on security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands of not being transparent. However, it is the AUKUS security partnership that is neither open nor transparent. When will the US and Australia invite South Pacific Island countries and other regional countries to review AUKUS cooperation?”

The US, UK, and Australia signed a security pact last year to arm Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines.

“The US claims that China’s military presence will cause grave concerns. If we follow this logic, the nearly 800 military bases in 80 countries and regions across the world run by the US have long been of major concern for the world. When will the US shut down those bases?” Wang questioned.

He said the island nations in the South Pacific are “independent and sovereign states, not a backyard of the US or Australia.”