In a speech to the Solomon Island’s Parliament yesterday, PM Manasseh Sogavare accused Australia and its allies of interfering in its affairs as he prepares to sign a controversial security deal with China. The deal would allow China’s military forces to be stationed there, which puts them less than 2,000km from Australia, and we are joined by New Zealand and the US in urging Sogavare not to sign it. But he says the claims that China plans to build a military base there are “misinformation”, and that Chinese forces would be there to guard key Chinese infrastructure projects in the region. And he wasn’t pleased about the West’s backlash to the agreement, saying he found it “very insulting to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs”. He’s spoken to PM Scott Morrison about it and maintains we’re still important partners, but the Solomons needs to diversify its partners to “achieve our security needs”.