China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands is a strategic coup that caught Australia off guard and will have military and trading consequences for decades to come.
| It was a strategic coup for China that caught Australia and its western allies completely off guard.
Knowing full well that control over the Solomons means potential control over shipping lanes connecting the United States to its allies in the region, China has been eyeing off a pivotal security deal for years.of Tulagi which is part of the Solomons chain. That island’s deepwater harbour also made it an ideal base for British and Japanese forces during World War II.
Even then, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and others had hoped they could stop Sogavare from pushing ahead with a proposal, which the draft suggested would open the door for Chinese warships, troops and a naval base on the Solomons. “China’s political warfare effort starts with a commercial presence with Chinese people on the ground which translates into political influence [over time] and the investments and financial involvement gets bigger. Along with that comes corruption and that is the thing that really juices Chinese influence,” says Grant Newsham, a Senior Research Fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.
“Does the US regard the Pacific Island country as an independent sovereign country, or as its appendage? Is it to develop equal relations with the island nation, or seek to control the island nation?”China has a history of blurring the truth when it comes to militarising artificial islands in the South China Sea.
Lowy Institute data shows China’s aid to the region surged by 25 per cent to almost $US2.9 billion in 2018, before declining 15 per cent to $US2.44 billion in 2019.Initially, the strategic goal appeared to be getting the island nations which recognised Taiwan to switch sides. The Solomons deal takes things a step further, but it is not the first arrangement China has in place to protect its economic interests.