Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has guaranteed there would never be a Chinese military base in his country, saying that any such deal with Beijing would undermine regional security, make the Pacific state an “enemy,” and “put our country and our people as targets for potential military strikes.”
He has also said that Australia remains the “security partner of choice” for Solomon Islands and he would only call on China to send security personnel to the country if there was a “gap” that Canberra could not meet.
Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, Radio New Zealand and Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp in his first media interview since signing the controversial security deal with China earlier this year, Sogavare said it was time for the world to “trust us.”
Photo: AFP
“Let me assure you all again, there is no military base, nor any other military facility, or institutions in the agreement. And I think that’s a very important point that we continue to reiterate to the family in the region,” he said.
News of the deal with China sparked huge concern among Western countries, particularly language in the text saying China would be permitted to “make ship visits.”
However, Sogavare pushed back against claims it would lead to a military base in the country, which lies less than 2,000km from Australia’s east coast.
“I have said it before and I will say it again, that is not in someone’s interest, nor the interest of the region for any military base, to be established in any Pacific island country, let alone Solomon Islands,” he said.
“I think the reason is simple; the reason is regionalism, the moment we establish a foreign military base, we immediately become an enemy. And we also put our country and our people as targets for potential military strikes,” he said.
Sogavare added that Chinese security personnel would only be invited to the Solomon Islands by the Solomon Islands government if Australia could not meet the requests for security assistance from the government.
“If there is any gap, we will not allow our country to go down the drain. If there is a gap, we will call on support from China, but we’ve made it very clear to the Australians, and many times when we have this conversation with them, that they are a partner of choice ... when it comes to security issues in the region, we will call on them first,” he said.
However, the assurances seem at odds with comments made by Sogavare last week, in which he praised China as a “worthy partner,” while saying relationships with some countries “at times can sour,” in an apparent reference to Australia.
He also said he wanted China to play a permanent role in training police in his country, and welcomed donations of police vehicles and drones from Beijing.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS