United States officials who visited Solomon Islands are convinced 'only a handful of people in a very small circle' have seen the final version of its controversial new security deal with China.
Mr Sogavare has repeatedly said the pact was related to domestic security issues and would not involve the building of a Chinese military base in the Solomons.Mr Sogavare has "vowed publicly as well as privately that there would be no Chinese military base, no long-term presence, no power projection capability," Mr Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.READ MORE
Labor accuses Liberals of letting 'the Pacific go' as a result of Solomon Islands-China security deal Provisions in the leaked draft deal have stoked fears of a more permanent military presence, particularly measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Pacific nation, which lies less than 2,000 kilometres from Australia.
The US has said it will "respond accordingly" if China sets up a military base in the Solomons, but Mr Kritenbrink declined to expound on the matter when pressed as to what that might entail. He said that "we do know that the PRC is seeking to establish a more robust overseas logistics and basing infrastructure that would allow the PLA [People's Liberation Army] to project and sustain military power at greater distances".
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