CANBERRA - The Solomon Islands will negotiate a comprehensive strategic treaty with Australia and review a security agreement with China, the Pacific country's new prime minister said on Wednesday. Matthew Wale is a veteran opposition figure who has been critical of China in the past
His visit to Canberra comes less than three weeks after he became leader of the archipelago nation 1,600km northeast of Australia. The Solomon Islands is seen as the nation with the closest ties to Beijing among the strategically located Pacific Islands. It signed a security pact with China in 2022, prompting concern from neighbours and the United States and a ramping up of Australia's diplomacy in the region.
