Prime Minister Scott Morrison is yet to call his Solomon Islands counterpart over its China deal despite a top-level US delegation heading to the Pacific nation.
an Australian intelligence agency was involved in the last-ditch leak of the draft security pact after senior officials concluded the deal was likely to be signed despite diplomatic efforts.
As to why Australia hadn’t sent the foreign minister to the country, Birmingham said, “We’ll continue to follow proper advice and engage with all of our Pacific partners at the appropriate level.” Under the agreement, Chinese armed forces will be allowed to protect infrastructure less than 2000 kilometres off the Australian east coast which could cut off vital supply lines to the US and Asia in the event of a conflict.
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