Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will embark on her maiden visit to the Solomon Islands this week, as per a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Wednesday.
The visit is the first by an Australian Foreign Minister since the Solomon Islands and China officially unveiled their security cooperation agreement in April.
Australia, the US, and New Zealand have all expressed concerns centred on “national security” about the possibility that the pact could lead to a Chinese military base in the region.
Both the Solomon Islands and China have repeatedly denied the Western accusations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said this month that it is the US which is the “real threat” to peace and stability in the Pacific and adjoining regions.
Wong will first travel to New Zealand, and then proceed to the Solomon Islands on what will be her third visit to the Pacific region since the new Labor government came to power in the country in the last week of May.
Wong has said that the new administration wants to reclaim Australia’s role as “partner of choice” for the Pacific Island Countries (PICs).
Aussie Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the Quad Leaders’ meeting in Tokyo on 24 May, a day after being sworn in as the country’s new leader, that his government would “bring more energy and resources to securing the region" as it enters "a new and more complex phase in the Pacific's strategic environment”, a reference to Beijing’s growing presence in the region.
Wong has so far visited Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, besides official visits to Indonesia and Japan.
“There are new possibilities for collaboration with New Zealand in support of regional security and on climate change,” the Australian statement read.
Wong said that she would meeting Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in the second leg of her visit.
“We are committed to deepening our cooperation with Solomon Islands, as we work together to face shared challenges and achieve our shared goals, including on climate change,” stated Canberra’s top diplomat.
She added that her discussions in the Solomon Islands would focus on “addressing our shared security interests”.
Wong’s visit comes almost a fortnight after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up his eight-nation trip to the southern Pacific countries — the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea, as well as Timor-Leste.