Seeking to counter international fears over its new security alliance with China, the Solomon Islands said on Friday it won't allow China to build a military base there.
But that insistence will do little to ease concerns about the pact from the nation's traditional partners that include New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
The leader of neighbouring Micronesia added his voice to those expressing trepidation by invoking the bloody battles of World War II and warning that the pact could again see the South Pacific region become a battleground for much larger powers.
The Solomon Islands government said Thursday a draft agreement of the new security pact had been initialed by representatives from the Solomons and China and would be "cleaned up" and signed.
In a statement Friday, the Solomon Islands government said that 바카라contrary to the misinformation promoted by anti-government commentators바카라 the agreement did not invite China to establish a military base.
바카라Government is conscious of the security ramification of hosting a military base, and it will not be careless to allow such initiative to take place under its watch,바카라 the statement said.
The statement seemed to more emphatically rule out the possibility of a base after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had earlier told parliament it had no intention of asking China to build a base.
Sogavare said his nation sought only peace and prosperity, citing its foreign policy mantra: 바카라We are friends to all and enemies to none.바카라 He said it wasn't a secret deal but a sovereign issue.
Under the terms of the draft agreement, China could send police, military personnel and other armed forces to the Solomon Islands 바카라to assist in maintaining social order바카라 and for a variety of other reasons.
It could also send warships to the islands for stopovers and to replenish supplies, which had led to speculation about the possibility of China establishing a naval base on the South Pacific islands.
Micronesia President David Panuelo wrote a letter to Sogavare saying Micronesia had 바카라grave security concerns바카라 about the "novel and unprecedented" arrangement.
He said the two small nations had become battle grounds during World War II and that it could happen again as China, the US and Australia asserted themselves in the region.
바카라And is it plausible that, once the spheres have been carved out, that our concerns about climate change 바카라 today's problem 바카라 would manifest into all-too-real concerns about a war in our backyards, with our people, our islands, as the playground for children playing as adults?바카라 Panuelo wrote to Sogavare.
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said Friday that while it respected the Solomons' sovereignty, the deal showed that China was acting aggressively in the region.
바카라We need to be very cautious here because the Chinese are incredibly aggressive, the tactics that they're deploying into small island nations are quite remarkable,바카라 he told Sky News.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this week described the possibility of Chinese military forces stationed on the Solomon Islands as 바카라the potential militarisation of the region.바카라
And the US State Department said Washington did not believe China's security forces and methods needed to be exported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that 바카라relevant parties should see the China-Solomon Islands security cooperation objectively and rationally and stop making irresponsible remarks.바카라
바카라Attempts to provoke, obstruct and undermine China's friendly relations with the island countries is not popular and will not succeed,바카라 Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
바카라China-Solomon Islands cooperation does not target any third party and is not in conflict with Solomon Islands' cooperation with other countries. Instead, it complements the existing regional cooperation mechanisms in a positive way,바카라 he added.
The Solomon Islands, home to about 700,000 people, switched its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019 바카라 a contributing factor to riots in November last year between residents of different islands within the country.
Australian police have been in the capital, Honiara, maintaining peace since then under a bilateral security treaty established in 2017.
It provides a legal basis for the rapid deployment of Australian police, troops and associated civilians in the event of a major security challenge.
Chinese police are already on the islands conducting a training mission.
The Federated States of Micronesia is home to about 100,000 people. It has diplomatic relations and considers itself a 바카라friend바카라 of China, as well as having a close relationship with the U.S. under a compact of free association.
