Australia has welcomed reassurances from the Solomon Islands that it would not allow China to install a military base on its territory, helping to assuage concerns about Beijing’s growing influence in the Pacific region.
Penny Wong, Australia’s new foreign minister, on Friday met Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who reaffirmed to her that Australia remained the country’s first partner of choice in matters of security and development.
Sogavare also told Wong there would be no persistent foreign military presence in the nation, even after it signed a security pact with China in April, which sparked concern in Canberra and Washington over Beijing’s motives in the region.