Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink warns security pact presents ‘potential regional security implications’
One of the most senior US officials in the Pacific has refused to rule out military action against Solomon Islands if it were to allow China to establish a military base there, saying that the security deal between the countries presented “potential regional security implications” for the US and other allies.
Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was part of a high-level US delegation to the Pacific country last week.
He said the US team, which also included the National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, Kurt Campbell, had a 90-minute “constructive and candid” meeting with prime minister Manasseh Sogavare in which the US team detailed concerns about its recently signed security deal with China.
Temper tantrums and invasion threats over Solomon Islands deal with China will push Pacific allies away
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“We wanted to outline for our friends in the Solomons, what our concerns are,” said Kritenbrink. “Prime minister Sogavare indicated that in the Solomon Islands’ view, the agreement they’ve concluded has solely domestic implications. But we’ve made clear that there are potential regional security implications of the agreement not just for ourselves, but for allies and partners across the region.”
On Tuesday, Kritenbrink reiterated the US’s willingness to act in the region if a military base were established by China.
“Of course, we have respect for the Solomon Islands sovereignty, but we also wanted to let them know that if steps were taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power projection capabilities, or a military installation, then we would have significant concerns, and we would very naturally respond to those concerns,” he said.
When asked what that response could involve, he said: “Look, I’m not going to speculate and I’m not in a position to talk about what the United States may or may not do in such a situation.”
Pressed on whether he would rule out the prospect of the US taking military action against Solomon Islands were a naval base to be established, and, if not, whether he was comfortable with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison’s talk of the base being a “red line” for Australia, he said: “I don’t have a lot to add beyond what I’ve already stated.”
In a statement last week, the Biden administration said the US would “respond accordingly” if China was allowed to establish a long-term presence on the islands, while noting assurances from Sogavare that he had no intention of allowing a military base.
The rhetoric escalated in the wake of the statement, with the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, saying Australia had “the same red line” as the US when it came to China’s involvement in Solomon Islands, and defence minister Peter Dutton using his Anzac Day address on Monday to declare: “Australia should prepare for war”, claiming that China was “on a very deliberate course at the moment”.
Kritenbrink also noted China’s military ambitions, saying: “I think it’s important in this context, to keep in mind that we do know that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is seeking to establish a more robust overseas logistics and basic infrastructure that would allow the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] to project and sustain military power at greater distances. So we wanted to have that candid conversation with our friends in the Solomons. We outlined our concerns … and we’ve indicated that we’ll continue to monitor the situation closely and continue to engage with them going forward.”
Australia is totally freaking out with the POSSIBILITY of a Chinese navy base in the Solomon Islands which is "just" 2000km from Australia. Meanwhile, the US has nearly 200 military bases in Japan & South Korea, which are "more than" 300km from China. Nearly half of US overseas pic.twitter.com/PDYJ9fhI0x
— Chengxin Pan (@ChengxinPan) April 24, 2022
US sponsored a violent coup in Solomon Islands trying to regime change the gov for recognizing People’s Republic of China over so-called “Republic of China” on Taiwan. Rioters burned down Chinatown.
— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) April 23, 2022
Solomon Islands gov signed a security deal w China
US/Aus threaten to invade
US officials visiting the strategic Solomon Islands warned of serious repercussions if China were to establish a permanent military presence there after the Pacific nation signed a defence pact with Beijing https://t.co/9KZ3PhOuCq pic.twitter.com/XAfcVMrwnN
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 22, 2022
BREAKING: Australian Commentator David Llewellyn-Smith, who contributes to the Sydney Morning Herald and founded "The Diplomat" has penned an op-ed in "MacroBusiness" calling for bombing the Solomon Islands, regime change and "forcing its government out of power".
— The Silksworth Post (@SilksworthPost) April 20, 2022
BREAKING: China and the Solomon Islands have signed a bilateral security cooperation framework agreement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. It comes amidst a tidal wave of US and Australian officials having visited the islands in the attempt to stop it.
— The Silksworth Post (@SilksworthPost) April 19, 2022
Have you been wondering why the Solomon Islands have turned away from Australia and towards China? You know, BESIDES the centuries of slavery (Solomon Islands was a target of slave raids from Australia) from the mid 1800s until into the 20th Century and exploitation? Well ... pic.twitter.com/nMuHkkT2eI
— Davide Melia (@davide_melia) April 20, 2022
中国とソロモン諸島が締結した安全保障協定、日米地位協定より何倍も対等
— 宋 文洲 (@sohbunshu) April 21, 2022
これに米国とオーストラリアなどが猛反発の不思議 pic.twitter.com/3jbpXJNusa
BREAKING: The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands has hit back at Australia over the row with the China deal, accusing Scott Morrison of being "hypocritical and hysterical" about it, whilst also blasting the lack of transparency over the AUKUS deal from last year.
— The Silksworth Post (@SilksworthPost) April 29, 2022
Australia reacts to ‘invasion’ threat claim
Canberra is concerned about a ‘secret’ security deal between the Solomon Islands and China, PM says
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged the Solomon Islands' leader Manasseh Sogavare to remain “calm” after he said his country was being “threatened with invasion” over a security pact it signed with China.
“We need to be calm and composed when we deal with these issues,” Morrison said on Thursday, insisting the relationship between Australia and the Solomon Islands remained friendly even while acknowledging he was concerned over “security” in the region following Sogavare’s decision to sign the “secret arrangement” with China.
Sogavare has criticized both the US and Australia’s response to the security pact his island recently inked with Beijing, insisting there is “nothing to be concerned about” and that the island nation is “insulted” by the West’s response to the move.
“We are being treated as kindergarten students walking around with Colt 45s in our hands” who “need to be supervised,” Sogavare complained, insisting his country was being “threatened with invasion” over the controversial pact and that Australia’s response demonstrated a “lack of trust.”
Sogavare said on Tuesday that there had been a “warning of military intervention” in the Solomon Islands if other countries’ security goals were undermined. “We are threatened with invasion,” he warned. “Now, that is serious.”
Morrison insisted that Australia remained Honiara’s “primary security partner,” and that his country trusted the island nation as an equal.
No final version of the pact between the island nation and China has yet been published, though a draft leaked in March mentioned Chinese warships were to be given safe harbor in the islands.
Morrison had previously warned that a Chinese military base in the Solomon Islands would be considered a “red line” for Canberra, though he did not explain what he would do to prevent it, or how.
The Australian PM dismissed suggestions during the press conference on Thursday that he had damaged the relationship between Canberra and Honiara, arguing he hadn’t spoken to his Solomon Islands counterpart on the advice of his country’s security agencies. He previously accused China of “interfering” in the Indo-Pacific region, expressing concern that the cooperation pact could eventually lead to the construction of a Chinese military base in the island nation, 2,000 kilometers away from Australia.
Australia goes to the polls on May 21, with Morrison facing fierce criticism of his foreign policy following the pact between Honiara and Beijing.
王毅国務委員:「中国とソロモンが国交樹立したことでソロモンに良き友人と真摯で信頼出来る仲間が一人増えた。中ソが中国と太平洋島嶼国互恵協力のモデルになるよう期待する。中国は一貫して国は大小を問わず一律平等と国際関係民主化を主張し、如何なる強権脅迫に反対する。」https://t.co/cIGntVbiLR
— 薛剑XueJian (@xuejianosaka) May 26, 2022