Manasseh Sogavare says he wasn’t told about Aukus pact until it was public while Scott Morrison accuses counterpart of parroting China’s lines
Australia, the UK and the US
In an at-times defensive address to parliament in Honiara on Friday, Sogavare said the “western media” had accused Solomon Islands and China of showing a lack of transparency about the agreement. But Sogavare said he had first “learned of the Aukus treaty in the media”. Sogavare added: “When Australia signed up to Aukus we did not become theatrical and hysterical on the implications this would have for us. We respected Australia’s decision. And I’m glad to say that Australia, United States of Australia and Japan respected our sovereignty to enter into this security agreement with China as well, based on trust and mutual respect.”
“I did have that conversation with the prime minister [Sogavare] the day following the announcement, and no issues were raised at that time in that discussion,” Morrison told reporters during an election campaign stop in Tasmania. A Chinese foreign ministry official, Wang Wenbin, told reporters on Wednesday that the US and Australia were guilty of “pure double standards”.
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