The signing of a security agreement between China and Solomon Islands should be seen as what it is: a significant tactical win for Beijing. | OPINION by Ian Kemish china solomonislands australia auspol
should be seen as what it is: a significant tactical win for Beijing in an ongoing competition for strategic influence in the Pacific.
In the Solomons, as in every country of the region, this will require a systematic approach to further enhance Australia’s position in each “domain” of the relationship – covering both the political elite and the broader public and key sectors from civil society to business and development.A serious assessment of where further vulnerabilities may lie across the Pacific will be required of Australia’s diplomats and intelligence officials. It’s no doubt underway.
A Vanuatu-based journalist was barred from re-entering the country in 2019 after reporting on the secret deportation of Chinese citizens escorted by the Chinese police. Meanwhile, media executives and journalists are courted assiduously by the Chinese authorities, who put public outlets under significant pressure to carry content. This pattern is reproduced elsewhere in the region.
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