Anti-China Riots 'Shouldn't Repeat in Future': Chinese Envoy Justifies Solomon Islands Security Pact

Chinese Ambassador to the Solomon Islands Weng Li said on Friday that security and development are “two sides of a coin” and are "closely connected with and supported each other” as justification for the recently signed security cooperation agreement between the two nations.

Addressing an embassy event in the capital Honiara, Weng underlined that the commercial ties between the islands and Beijing have improved since the Pacific nation switched its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019.

“The tragedy of looting and burning of Chinatown and other properties in Honiara should not repeat itself in the future,” Weng cautioned during his speech, after noting that cooperation between the two nations spanned diverse sectors ranging from trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture and policing.

“Both countries signed an MoU [memorandum of understanding] to further cooperation in law enforcement and policing. And the bilateral Security Framework Agreement will help Solomon Islands in its long-term peace and stability,” Weng also stated in his address.

Violent anti-Chinese riots had erupted in Honiara last December following Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in 2019 and recognising the mainland People's Republic of China's sovereignty in place of the Taiwanese Republic of China. Washington has also officially recognised Beijing as the sole government of China since 1979 under the 'one China policy'.

Prime Minister Sogavare invited Chinese riot police to quell violent demonstrations, which was at the time rejected by Solomon Islands' longstanding security partner Australia.

At present, China is Solomon Islands’ largest trading partner, and grants duty-free access to 97 percent of exports from the islands.

At his speech on Friday, Weng also criticised those spreading “inflammatory remarks” over the newly-signed security deal between the two nations, a reference to concerns expressed by US, Australia and other western partners on ever-closer ties between Beijing and Honiara.

“There is no hidden motive, no geopolitical agenda as some people wrongly claimed. China will never infringe on the sovereignty and internal politics of Solomon Islands,” the Chinese diplomat remarked.

“It is a sovereign decision made by the two governments representing peoples of the two countries, with incredibly huge outcomes in only two years, and should be duly respected,” he added.

The security pact was leaked online in March and later confirmed by Sogavare, who announced to the country’s parliament this week that it had been ratified.

The “security cooperation” pact between Beijing and Honiara is designed so that the police and armed forces of the two countries can work together to “protect” the safety of Chinese personnel and projects in the Pacific nation.

The leaked draft of the agreement also states that Chinese vessels could carry out “logistical replenishments”, “stopovers” and “transition” in the Solomon Islands.

Australian and Western security analysts have expressed concerns that the pact would be akin to Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) gaining a “base” on Solomon Islands, which lies around 2,000 kilometres northeast to the Australian state of Queensland.

The security pact has also become an issue in the ongoing campaign for the Australian federal election, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeks re-election.

Australian Labour Party opposition leader Anthony Albanese described the pact as a “policy failure” on Morrison's part.

Both China and the Solomon Islands have rejected criticism of closer ties between the two countries, with Prime Minister Sogavare stating in Parliament that backlash against the pact was “very insulting”.

He has also assured that there would not be any Chinese “security base” on the Solomon Islands in the future.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday also hit out at the US over its criticism that the security agreement had not been negotiated in a “transparent” manner.

“China and Solomon Islands have both talked extensively about our security cooperation. How can anyone allege that it lacks transparency? I would like to stress again that China-Solomon Islands security cooperation is open, transparent and inclusive, and does not target any third party," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a media briefing

"It proceeds in parallel with and complements Solomon Islands’ existing bilateral and multilateral security cooperation mechanisms,” he added.