CANBERRA, Australia — The Solomon Islands refused to sign the U.S. government’s Pacific partnership deal until “indirect” references to the Chinese government were removed, with Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele saying his country did not want to “choose sides.”
The U.S. government announced the signing of a landmark agreement between Washington and the leaders of 14 Pacific nations on September 30, which included increased cooperation on maritime security, climate change and economic development.
It was a win for the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden in a region where it has been attempting to claw back influence from the Chinese government.
However, Foreign Minister Manele said on Tuesday the Solomon Islands had initially refused to sign the agreement, as in the initial draft there were some references they were “not comfortable” with.
“There were some references that put us in a position that we’ll have to choose sides and we don’t want to be placed in any position that we have to choose sides,” Manele said at a press conference in New Zealand. When asked if those references referred to China, he replied “indirectly.”
Manele said it was the Solomon Islands’ position that the Indo-Pacific “should be a region of peace, cooperation and collaboration.”
In April, China shocked the U.S. and Australia by announcing it had signed a security agreement with the Solomons government, the first-such deal brokered by Beijing in the region.
The final wording of the agreement has not been released but a draft version leaked in March would have allowed Chinese warships a safe harbor less than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the Australian coastline. Manele denied there were any provisions in the agreement between China and the Solomon Islands which would allow for a military base to be built on the Pacific island.
Opinions shift
A report released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on Wednesday said the Chinese government had undertaken a prolonged media campaign in the Solomon Islands to influence public sentiment toward Beijing and Canberra.
According to the ASPI report, negative sentiment toward Western countries rapidly increased on Solomon Islands social media after the leaking of the draft security agreement with China in March. At the same time, negative opinions of China and the Solomon Islands’ government decreased on social media.
The authors of the ASPI report said there was an “emerging and continuously developing Chinese state information capability in the Solomon Islands.” “That capability can be deployed to support the Chinese Communist Party’s objectives, which include undermining Solomon Islands’ existing relationships with foreign partners.”
