"Solomons sign defense deal with China" Topic

So China has signed a defense deal with the Solomons, paving the way for overt Chinese bases…like their huge underground "gold mine" dig and port expansion on Guadalcanal. One report said the move by China caught the Biden admin "flat footed." Oops. And I guess the Aussies should have let the street uprising topple the regime there, instead of saving it and letting it become a Chinese ally. Well done, leaders and technocrats in Canberra! Winning!

Why a tiny Pacific nation's China deal is getting global attention
The U.S. and its allies say Beijing's security pact with the Solomon Islands could threaten stability in the strategically important region.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A tiny island chain in the South Pacific has Western governments scrambling after it agreed to a security pact with China that the United States and its allies fear could enhance Beijing's military power in this strategically important region.

The deal between China and the Solomon Islands, a nation of 700,000 people that had deadly riots last year, poses "serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific," officials from the U.S., Australia, Japan and New Zealand said in a statement on Wednesday.

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News of negotiations between Beijing and the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara appeared to catch the Biden administration flat-footed. An American delegation was dispatched to the island nation for discussions with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, but before they could even arrive to negotiate, China announced that the deal had already been signed. This is not good news, to put it mildly. (NBC News)

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Lovely. Heavy on the sarcasm.

SB, do you think pollies actually consider the outcomes of their actions? At least beyond "Do I benefit?". The distraction of Ukraine was just what the PRC wanted, and similar "offers of mutual assistance" are probably being made from Kampuchea to Namibia.

China was always going to try this. Keep an eye on Vanuatu as well- they'll be watching Sogavare counting his money and the government there is a shambles. It would also give the PRC an alternative option in the SW Pacific.

Meanwhile, as with Russia, cash and resources will still flow in from countries and companies who see a profit in dealing with them.

Many a WWII Marine is turning in his grave

China was on our side in WW2, so I'm sure the Marines would be delighted

The government of the Solomons may come to regret their decision.

I live in Ecuador, as some of you recall. We had a big dam construction project here some years ago, to provide hydroelectric power. The Ecuadorian government signed a contract with the Chinese to engineer & manage the project, as well as provide financing.

Recent investigations found significant cracking in some of the dam components, & will require repairs that could be up to $1 USD billion in cost. Keep in mind this is a country of 17 million people where 60% live on no more than $425 USD/month. Ecuador is a relatively poor country, & they have to pay on the financing whether the dam works or not. The Chinese guarantee to fix defects of no more than $25 USD or $35 USD million.

I asked a few Ecuadorians here how they feel about the Chinese. A lot look at the Chinese the same way they did the US during the era of Banana Republics: with a great deal of skepticism.

Damon.

China is taking a page from the Imperil Japanese Play book and trying to Isolate Australia.

As to China's many World wide infrastructure improvements, they all come at a price and most countries end up pay the true cost in servitude.

China was on our side in WW2, so I'm sure the Marines would be delighted

Nah, the Chinese that actually *fought* against the Japanese alongside US forces in Burma were the Nationalists. Obscure WW2 history -- the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma saved an entire Commonwealth Infantry division from encirclement and destruction by the Japanese. The Communists, however, mostly squirreled away the foreign aid and weapons we gave them, killed as many Nationalists as they did Japanese and created safe enclaves for themselves. After the war was over and the Nationalists were exhausted from conflict against the Japanese, the Communists struck hard and seized control of China.

So THESE Chinese we're discussing are CCP – treacherous Communists, the same type the USMC fought at Chosin. So no, I doubt they would happy about it.

China is taking a page from the Imperil Japanese Play book and trying to Isolate Australia.

Yep. This map of Chinese bases, both built and under construction, tells you what strategy they are pursuing.

*CCP Flag = Chinese ties via Belt & Road
*CCP Flag & Anchor = Current bases or bases under construction

Current administration doesn't have a clue. We will end up paying for stupidity.

Yep. This map of Chinese bases, both built and under construction, tells you what strategy they are pursuing.

What bases are being built in Kiribati or the FSM?

PNG hasn't signed off on the base that the PRC wants to build on Daru either, since other PRC-sponsored infrastructure projects have flopped. PNG and PRC did sign a MoU and it could go ahead, but odds are against it.

Lastly, what base has been/ will be built in the Solomons? The agreement allows PLAN ships to visit and re-victual in Honiara, and the PRC to assist with troops and police if requested, but no mention of a base.

The map looks more like Xi's latest wet dream than the current situation. Or another gun-runner's sales pitch.

Japanese Navy commissions Mogami-class frigate JS Mogami

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Armand

We'll need all the help we can get, Armand.

A European perspective on why cutting big deals with China probably isn't a good thing just on the basis of the business relationship let alone the geopolitics. And yet another example, if the world needed more, of why price should never, ever be the arbiter when contracting work.

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After reading that adding a security deal and base in the mix basically makes me think that's like taking a loan at the bank and then letting their bailiffs be your lodgers….

Good article, ROUW. The promised jobs from BRI deals often don't appear- Chinese workers get brought in, as the Solomons, PNG and Western Australia found out, and there's always the possibility that the promised infrastructure is not up to a useable standard (eg the Noble Centre in Port Moresby is deemed uninhabitable). There have also been complaints that Chinese personnel have been unnecessarily harsh to locals.

I wonder if Putin realises that Xi has used him as a cat's paw to distract the West?

(smile)

Armand

China's Military Strategy In The Solomon Islands

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Armand

Xi is gobbling up real estate like a slow-moving stealthy game of Pacman. Little by little, inch by inch, mile by mile and next thing you know while driving down the road, you see signs in English & Chinese. And maybe even Russian …

Plus a Chinese take out place on every corner …

On the California Coast soon…? (smile)

Armand

They may be there already …

Glup…

Armand

Stay Calm and Consider 5 Steps on Solomon Islands

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Armand