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Tensions are high between China and Australia over Solomon Islands, but it’s in everyone’s interests to simmer down | Tania Miletic and Anouk Ride
Angry rhetoric over China’s deal with the Pacific nation hides the mutual interest all sides have in stability in the Pacific region
Over the last month, tensions between China, Australia and Solomon Islands have escalated dramatically over the draft of a security treaty between the Pacific nation and China, that some fear could see China establish a military base in Solomon Islands.
There have been heated words from all sides, China intimating that Australia is promoting US-led competition in the region; Australia voicing fears of what a Chinese military base might mean for Australia’s national security and implying that the Pacific Islands is its domain of control; and Solomon Islands’ prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, stating that other countries were not respecting its sovereignty and calling Solomon critics of the treaty “lunatics” indicates the level of conflict and potential escalation.
Dr Tania Miletic is assistant director, Initiative for Peacebuilding at the University of Melbourne and Dr Anouk Ride is an affiliate reseacher, Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of Melbourne, based in Solomon Islands.
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