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)
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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