The pact, “Framework Agreement Between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Solomon Islands on Security Cooperation,” highlights a disturbing trend: China, after years of persistent commercial, diplomatic, and military efforts, is taking over the Pacific.
Beijing is moving from island group to island group, and soon, the People’s Liberation Army will be within striking distance of Hawaii.
Cleo Paskal of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Gatestone that the framework agreement was a “unilateral decision by Sogavare.”
“There has been no public consultation,” she said.
The five-year deal, subject to automatic renewals, will allow Beijing to use the islands to base its military and to do pretty much what Chinese generals and admirals want.
“China,” the pact states in Article I, “may, according to its own needs and with the consent of Solomon Islands, make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in Solomon Islands, and the relevant forces of China can be used to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in Solomon Islands.”
If implemented to its full extent, the framework agreement will give China the ability to sever shipping lanes and air links connecting the United States with its treaty ally Australia and partner New Zealand.
Sogavare, not surprisingly, is doing Beijing’s bidding. He switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, and has, at home, opened the door wide to Chinese investment.
The prime minister has also mismanaged the country, for instance, marginalizing the country’s most populous island, Malaita, and threatening its premier, Daniel Suidani. Putting his life at risk, Suidani has resolutely opposed the Chinese takeover of the Solomons.
The framework agreement also provides, in Article 1, that the “Solomon Islands, may, according to its own needs, request China to send police, armed police, military personnel, and other law enforcement and armed forces to Solomon Islands to assist in maintaining social order, protecting people’s lives and property, providing humanitarian assistance, carrying out disaster response, or providing assistance on other tasks agreed upon by the Parties.”
Sogavare, backed by Beijing’s military and the framework agreement, can effectively end democracy in the Solomons. Paskal, who closely follows the Pacific, reports that the prime minister is trying to postpone elections.
“If Sogavare can trigger a domestic security crisis, he will use that as an excuse to keep himself in power,” she said. “China will help the prime minister provoke a civil war. That war will provide Sogavare an excuse to call in the Chinese military, according to the new agreement.”
As Paskal told Gatestone, Beijing has already exacerbated tensions so that it could come to the “country’s rescue.”
The facility is just 1,900 miles south of Hawaii. In Pacific terms, Kiribati is America’s next-door neighbor.