Relationship with China

In 2019, under then-Prime Minister the Hon Manasseh Damukana Sogavare MP, Solomon Islands ‘switched’ its recognition from Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) to the Peoples’ Republic of China.

Solomon Islands no longer has any relationship with Taiwan, and the bilateral relationship with China has grown rapidly. Key achievements centre on the 2023 Pacific Games facilities: China built the national stadium complex.

However, the most scrutiny has fallen upon China’s encroachment into the security sector. In April 2022, Solomon Islands signed a security agreement with China, the details of which have never been made public. This lack of information has led to concerns that China could use this agreement to establish a military presence in Solomon Islands. This would significantly alter the security dynamic within our region.

When it was released in 2022, this ABC Four Corners report about the extent of Chinese influence and control in Solomon Islands upset then-Prime Minister Sogavare and his government. The report revealed a Chinese state-owned company was in talks to buy a Solomon Islands plantation with a deep-water port and airstrip which could be used for military purposes. 45 minutes long, the episode explains the angst currently felt by Canberra leadership about the closeness of the Solomon Islands and China relationship.

A reminder, videos are available to view on your mobile devices or standalone laptops – not on the DPN.

China has donated dozens of cars and motorcycles to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF), as well as two water cannon trucks, as it seeks a closer law enforcement relationship. The November 2021 riots in Honiara resulted in Chinatown (an economic hub) being burnt to the ground. The motivation behind the riots was more complicated than anti-Chinese sentiment, but as a result China established a Police Liaison Team (PLT) in Solomon Islands. The RSIPF now de-conflict their training schedule so as to receive training from both the PLT, Australia, and New Zealand.

A controversy erupted in Solomon Islands in February 2022 after local media reported that firearms had been “smuggled” into Honiara by China. RSIPF Police Commissioner Mostyn Mangau explained in a press release that the weapons were “not capable of firing any live munitions” and that the Chinese embassy had shipped them into the country to help train local officers – they were not ‘smuggled’. Suspicion remained though, and the imported training firearms were back in the media in August 2023 when Al Jazeera reported that US diplomats in Papua New Guinea told Washington at the time that the weapons seemed to be genuine.

In July 2023, then-Prime Minister Sogavare travelled to China to officially open Solomon Islands’ embassy in China, announce an ambassador, and sign nine Memorandum of Understanding agreements. One of which was a Police Cooperation Plan to be implemented from 2023 to 2025. Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Solomon Islands’ opposition politicians expressed concern, saying it would undermine the Pacific’s agreed regional security norms, and called for the details to be published publicly.

“We take the view, along with all other members of the Pacific Island Forum... that security is best provided for within the Pacific family,” Australia’s Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong told reporters after the agreement was announced.

This was poorly received by the Solomon Islands Government. In a press conference, then-Prime Minister Sogavare rejected Australia’s concerns. In response to calls to share the details of the Police Cooperation Plan, he said Australia, and other partners, were demonstrating “narrow and coercive” diplomacy, being “unneighbourly” and interfering “in the internal affairs of Solomon Islands”. Watch an ABC video report on the press conference here.

Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, visited Solomon Islands after that press conference, that same month. The Solomon Islands Government shared a press release after Minister Conroy met then-Prime Minister Sogavare.

Building the national stadium for the 2023 Pacific Games generated a lot of goodwill for China, and they had another public diplomacy win when the naval hospital ship, Peace Ark, visited Honiara in August 2023. Dr Transform Aqorau, Vice Chancellor of the Solomon Islands National University wrote in The Solomon Star newspaper that “it gave hope to locals that they might receive the kind of medical care that is not available on a day-to-day basis”. The visit made the front pages of local newspapers all week, and people queued for hours to receive care. A baby was delivered by the Chinese medical team and named ‘Peace Ark’.

Australia’s political leadership have said there is nothing wrong with China being a major development partner in Solomon Islands. The health, education, and rural development sectors, among many others, could all benefit from more partner funding than can be provided by Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the US, and other traditional partners. In August 2023, Solomon Islands’ graduation from the United Nation’s Least Developed Country status had to be delayed from 2024 to 2027. By many metrics, Solomon Islands is not developed enough to graduate (see: Information) and Australia respects that Solomon Islands has requested financial support from other countries to continue developing.

However concern surrounds China’s encroachment in the security sector. Australia’s political leadership, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, have said there’s no place for China in the security sector. They agree with other Pacific Islands Forum member countries that “Pacific security should be provided by the Pacific family” (Foreign Minister Wong).

Australia holds the position that there is no need to invite a security partnership with countries outside the Pacific unless the Pacific family is not able to meet those security needs in the first instance. Australia has a long history of supporting Solomon Islands’ security sector, and has worked with New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea in doing so (see: military).

His Excellency Li Ming – the first ambassador from the Peoples’ Republic of China to Solomon Islands – was instrumental in establishing China’s embassy in the country and building the bilateral relationship. You can read more about Ambassador Li Ming’s final courtesy call on then-Prime Minister Sogavare in this press release. It will be interesting to see what changes in the Solomon Islands and China relationship as the new Chinese ambassador His Excellency Cai Weiming makes his mark.

Named Prime Minister in May 2024, Jeremiah Manele was previously foreign minister in the Sogavare government and was a central figure in the country's switch to China. He has said he will have the "same foreign policy basis — friends to all and enemies to none". However, his diplomatic credentials suggest he may take a more considered approach to dealing with all partners.

For further information on the Solomon Islands and China relationship, see the resources below:

Videos

1. One China Policy implication on Press Freedom (Tavuli News, 6m 27s)

Podcasts

1. Should I stay or should I go now? Inside the Solomons' Big Switch (The Little Red Podcast, 37m)
2. Unpacking the Solomon Islands-China security deal (ANU National Security College, 50m)

Articles

1. Solomon Islands officially opens embassy in Beijing, 'a big milestone' to further enhance relations between countries and people (Global Times)
2. Inside the SI-PRC Police Cooperation agreement (solomons.gov.sb)
3. What Solomon Islands election means for relations and security pact with China (ABC)
4. Duelling diplomacy in the Pacific should dispel the notion of a China-Australia reset (The Lowy Institute)
5. China’s shifting Pacific engagement – loud and brash to “small but beautiful” (The Lowy Institute)
6. China sending more police, donating equipment including drones to Solomon Islands for Pacific Games (ABC)
7. The Risks of China’s Ambitions in the South Pacific (The Lowy Institute)
8. A security agreement between China and Solomon Islands could impact stability in the whole Pacific (The Lowy Institute)
9. Geopolitical competition and Solomon Islands: navigating the middle ground (DevPolicy Blog)

Discussion questions

1. What do you think China’s intentions are in Solomon Islands?
2. What threat might Solomon Islands’ security partnership with China pose to Australia? How should Australia handle this at the national/political level?
3. What would it mean for Australia if China established a military or dual-use facility in Solomon Islands?
4. Should the ADF continue training and infrastructure projects in Solomon Islands, given its security partnership with China?