THE SQUIZ

The US has made a rare foray into diplomatic relations in our region with a stern rebuke of the security pact that’s firming up between the Solomon Islands and China. The potential deal would significantly increase China’s military presence in the southwest Pacific, and Australian and Kiwi leaders have said they are worried about it. And yesterday Admiral Samuel J Paparo, the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said “it’s a concern” for the US too.

BACK IT UP A BIT …

We’ll have you covered with a Squiz Shortcut coming out tomorrow. But for today’s purposes, let’s narrow in on what’s happened in the last couple of weeks. A draft of a security deal between the Solomons and China was leaked on Twitter, and Solomon’s PM Manasseh Sogavare confirmed that he is poised to sign it. It would allow China to deploy troops and police to the Solomons to “protect its financial interests”, and would allow Chinese warships to stop over during naval exercises. It follows Sogavare’s establishment of formal ties with China in 2019 in return for $730 million in financial aid. He defended his country’s right to “diversify” its diplomatic relationships, adding “we find it very insulting to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs.” The fear is China will be allowed to set up a permanent military base just 2,000km from Oz. Even without it, senior Defence officials say any stationing of Chinese vessels in the Solomons is a problem.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Well, this intervention from the Americans is sure to put the cat amongst the pigeons. So could new announcements made by the Coalition Government… Yesterday, Peter Dutton announced a $3.5 billion weapons upgrade that will give us long-range missile strike capabilities of about 900km sooner than planned and establish missile manufacturing capabilities here. And overnight, PM Scott Morrison has chatted to his AUKUS counterparts about getting our hands on some hypersonic missiles that can travel 2,000km. Our people say the moves are driven by a worsening global security situation, which is a sentiment backed by Admiral Paparo. “I always operate under the notion that there’s the potential of conflict within our region within a couple of years because of the incredible unpredictability of events,” he said. Yikes…