“This is a prime minister that went to the wrong island, went to Hawaii during the bushfires when his focus should have been on the Solomon Islands,' senior Labor frontbencher Jim Chalmers said. auspol ausvotes ausvotes2022 ausvotes22
Labor has flagged it will increase Australia’s diplomatic heft in the Pacific and boosting foreign aid in a bid to combat China’s growing influence while Prime Minister Scott Morrison warns the superpower is seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in the region but he would draw a line at a Chinese military base.
Morrison said he had received similar reassurances previously, and the establishment of a base in Solomons would be a “red line” for Australia and the United States.“Working together with our partners in New Zealand and of course the United States, I share the same red line that the United States has when it comes to these issues.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said it was vital to approach relationships with Pacific nations by continually demonstrating that you were engaging in the issues they cared about, such as climate change.“You don’t just respond to [increased competition by China] by telling people not to go elsewhere. You respond to it by becoming and being and staying the partner of choice,” she told Sky News.
The Coalition cut aid spending in real terms for six budgets in a row after it took office in 2013. Aid spending jumped during the pandemic, but theit would flatline over the next few years, although there was a separate pool of money allocated to infrastructure projects in the Pacific. Defence Minister Peter Dutton said China has changed over recent years, resorting to aggressive tactics and underhanded behaviour such as making “corrupt payments” to get the deals it wants.
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