A senior federal government frontbencher has effectively alleged China timed the announcement of its security pact with Solomon Islands to hurt the Coalition's chances at the federal election, suggesting it could be an act of "political interference" by Beijing.
Australian officials fear the agreement could allow China to establish a military presence in the Pacific Island country down the track, and the news that it had been signed sent shock waves through the federal election campaign last week.
Labor has used the revelation to try and undermine the Coalition's national security credentials and accused the government of a catastrophic foreign policy blunder, while some senior ministers have hinted that China may have used bribery to secure the pact.
On Wednesday morning, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said she believed it was "very likely" that China would attempt to send its troops to the Solomon Islands.
And she suggested the timing of the announcement might have been deliberate, saying Beijing was "clearly very aware we are in a federal election campaign at the moment".
"I think the one ... thing we should be at least taking notice of and paying attention to is the timing of the announcement from deals in relation to Solomon Islands," she told Brisbane radio station 4BC.
Labor has already scoffed at the suggestion, with the Shadow Defence Minister Brendan O'Connor saying Ms Andrews was "so out of depth in her security portfolio she's embarking on flights of conspiratorial fantasy."
"The government won't accept they have presided over one of the worst policy failures in the Pacific since WWII. When you mess up, fess up," he wrote on Twitter.
Timing 'more likely' related to US visit: official
The negotiations over the security pact first came to light in late March, when a copy of the draft agreement was leaked on social media, sparking a political and media firestorm in Australia.
About four weeks later China's Foreign Ministry unilaterally announced during a regular press conference that the final agreement had been signed by both countries.
The announcement came only days before senior White House official Kurt Campbell was due to land in Honiara to press Solomon Islands not to push ahead with the pact.
One Australian official told the ABC while China might have been "quite happy" that the announcement coincided with the federal election, it was more likely driven by its desire to bed down the security agreement as quickly as possible, particularly ahead of Mr Campbell's visit.
The ABC has asked the Home Affairs Minister's office if the government has any intelligence substantiating the claim, but has not yet received a response.
Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally said if the government had proof of foreign interference then it should share it with the Opposition.
"Offered with no proof. We are in caretaker mode. If Karen Andrews has such intelligence, Labor should be briefed," she said on Twitter.
"Otherwise she should listen to ASIO: using fear of foreign interference is as corrosive as foreign interference itself."
