Don’t believe the alarmist soundbites on the China-Solomons security deal

Abstract

Forged in the furnaces of contested regional geopolitics and an Australian election campaign, debates about the security agreement between Solomon Islands and China are red hot.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has delivered a series of biting speeches blasting Australia for what he says is hypocrisy, disrespect and foreign interference. Meanwhile, Washington and Beijing are trading diplomatic barbs over the agreement, accusing each other – either by implication or directly – of imperilling regional security. Show more