Solomon Islands wanted 'indirect' Chinese references removed from US-led Pacific partnership deal

On Tuesday, Solomon Islands foreign minister Jeremiah Manele revealed that the country had initially refused to sign the United States government’s much-touted Pacific partnership deal until “indirect” references to China were removed from the agreement. The deal was meant strengthen Washington’s ties with at least 14 Pacific nations and included provisions for increased cooperation on maritime security, climate change and economic development.

The remarks by Manele were the first time that Solomon Islands publicly acknowledged the concerns it had with the draft of the agreement. “There were some references that put us in a position where we’ll have to choose sides, and we did not want to be placed in a position where we have to choose sides,” Manele told reporters in New Zealand's Wellington.

According to reports, the final draft of the pact had a small section on security with broad language that did not particularly mention China, but specifically condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, when the foreign minister was asked during the press conference if the text was referring to Beijing, he responded by saying “indirectly.”

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He went on to say that the initial draft had some references that they were “not comfortable with”, however after further negotiations and discussions the officials were able to “find common ground”. The Solomon Islands minister is currently on a visit to New Zealand where he met with his counterpart Nanaia Mahuta, in Wellington.

While it was unclear as to which section of the draft was the point of concern for the island nation, a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) news said that a provision which read that the nations “consult with one another closely on security decisions with regional impacts” later was removed from the final draft of the declaration.

On the other hand, a report released on Wednesday, by a think tank in Australia alleges that the Chinese Communist Party has tried to attempt to undermine the Pacific island nation’s relations with the US and Australia. They have done this by spreading false narratives through local media and the use of social media channels in the Solomon Islands, said the report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, reported the Associated Press.

(With inputs from agencies)

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