Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told his Australian counterpart on Thursday that he would not do anything that undermined Pacific security and would not allow military bases in his country under a security deal with China.
Sogavare met with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in a brief visit to Canberra, and the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported that Australia remained the development partner of choice for Solomon Islands.
After the Pacific island nation struck a security pact with China in April, the relations between Australia and Solomon Islands soured. The agreement raised concerns for the United States and Australia, who have seen the Pacific region as a sphere of influence for decades.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Solomon Islands will not do anything that will undermine our national security and jeopardize the security of all Pacific Island forum countries, according to the ABC.
I reiterate again that Solomon Islands will never be used for foreign military installations or institutions of foreign countries, because this will not be in the interest of Solomon Islands and its people. According to a joint statement issued by Albanese after the meeting, Albanese said the two leaders discussed bilateral ties, climate crisis and shared aspirations for a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific. Sogavare thanked Albanese for a kind offer to finance the country's next elections, which were due to be held in 2023, but Sogavare has moved to 2024 due to Solomon Islands hosting the Pacific Games next year.
It was a change from last month when Sogavare criticized the offer of election funding as interference. The bilateral meeting came days after U.S. President Joe Biden and 14 Pacific island states issued a joint declaration to strengthen their partnership amid Washington s offer of hundreds of millions of new aid for the region.
The Solomon Islands endorsed the document after earlier indicating it would not sign the declaration.