The leak of a draft security cooperation agreement between China and the Solomon Islands has alarm bells ringing in Honiara, the nation’s capital, and beyond.

Provisions in the agreement, such as those that seemingly authorize the dispatch of Chinese forces to help control social unrest in the country, are especially worrisome.

Rather than complain, governments that are troubled, and Tokyo is among them, should pay more attention to local concerns. South Pacific nations are threatened by climate change and diminishing economic opportunities. They fear becoming pawns in the geopolitical competition between China and the West. Governments that fear Chinese encroachment should do more to address the issues that worry their residents to win favor in regional capitals.

The Solomon Islands are an archipelago of over 900 islands spread across some 1,500 kilometers in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. It is home to Guadalcanal, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War and a turning point in the war.

The country has periodically experienced violent protests — the product of deep social and political divisions. Such flareups occurred after general elections in 2006 and 2019, and more recently in November 2021 in an incident that was triggered by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. Public anger was fueled by allegations of corruption — essentially that Chinese money purchased the move — and protestors focused their anger on Chinese businesses; four lives were lost in the violence.

Australia, the Solomon Islands’ traditional security provider, sent troops to help restore order at Honiara's request. Afterward, China sent 10 police officers and offered to help train and equip the nation's riot police.

That role anticipated arrangements in the security agreement. The document says the Solomon Islands may ask China “to send police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces ... to assist in maintaining social order.” China can also provide “assistance on other tasks.” The draft allows China to “make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in and have stopover and transition in the Solomon Islands.” Those ships would be protected by Chinese troops. Both parties agreed to keep the agreement secret.

Domestic opposition to the pact reflected fears that Chinese forces would intervene on Sogavare’s behalf and allow him to manipulate the 2023 general election. Foreign observers worry about the Solomon Islands’ democracy and the prospect of China gaining a foothold — a naval base — in a crucial location in the South Pacific. The Solomon Islands are part of the second island chain, which would be used to hem in Chinese military forces in a conflict; conversely, Chinese military facilities in these islands could be used to keep U.S. forces out of the region.

Sogavare acknowledged the existence of the pact and said it was ready for signing; he also labeled the charges that it could destabilize regional security as “insulting.” The nation's leader insisted that he had not been pressured to sign the agreement and had “no intention” to ask China to build a military base in the Solomons. His country’s foreign policy, he added, was to be a friend to all, an enemy to none and to not be drawn into geopolitical conflicts.

There is more than a whiff of paternalism to complaints about China’s growing influence in the Solomon Islands and throughout Oceania. To be sure, Beijing is using its wealth to buy influence and risks corrupting local politics. Taiwan is equally quick to use its money for political advantage, too.

Most importantly, however, for many Pacific islands residents and politicians, China is helping them address their problems. That means, first and foremost, providing funds for development. In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Fiji and told a gathering of regional leaders that his country was prepared to help. China has honored that pledge, providing grants and loans of about $200 million a year. It has also become a key market for exports from those islands, taking in fish, wood products and minerals.

Other longtime partners have been playing catch-up. Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region, confirming that the U.S. has “a long-term future in the Indo-Pacific,” promising to re-open an embassy in the Solomon Islands. — the previous one closed in the 1990s — and pledging more U.S. help on climate change, COVID-19 vaccines and illegal fishing.

In 2020, the U.S. announced more than $200 million in regional assistance, including for development aid and to help deal with the pandemic. Regional leaders are eager to have that U.S. presence but they are wary. Washington’s attention has been sporadic and even with the purported Chinese threat, its actions continue to be slow.

Oceania is a long way away from the United States, but that doesn’t mean that China will fill the gap. Rather, Australia, New Zealand and Japan should step up. Australia has been the most visible source of support. In fiscal 2020-2021, its development assistance to the region reached $1.4 billion Australian dollars (a little over $1 billion) and was set at a similar level for 2021-2022.

Japan plays an important role as well. A 2019 study by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, identified Japan as the sixth largest donor in the region, having provided more than $1 billion in aid between 2011 and 2017. In 1997, Japan set up the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, which meets every three years. In July 2021, Japan joined a UNICEF initiative, providing $20.8 million to Pacific Island governments for COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts.

The best solutions will be multilateral. In 2018, Japan, Australia and the U.S. launched the Trilateral Partnership for Infrastructure Investment in the Indo-Pacific. It has financed just one project so far: a $30 million fiber-optic cable linking Australia, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It’s a start but only that. Failure to do more makes Sogavare’s deal with China look better every day.

The Japan Times Editorial Board