Deciphering the feasibility of PLA bases in the South Pacific (Opinion)
Security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands has caused great consternation about Chinese encroachment in the South Pacific. (Xinhua)
A secretive security pact has turned Solomon Islands into potentially a first South Pacific location for a Chinese military base. But would such a base be an asset or a liability?
Headlines on the Solomon Islands-China security pact have been splashed across news reports over the past few weeks. The deal came as a surprise to many, not least Australia and the US, who have long been comfortable with a South Pacific region that has not seen any new power player entrenched via such an official security arrangement for decades.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called a Chinese military base in Solomon Islands a ‘red line’. It does not help matters that Morrison is confronted with an upcoming federal election, and the opposition has bitten into this saga to attack his
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