The Solomon Islands has confirmed that it is drafting a security deal with China after leaked documents indicated that a Chinese military base might be set up just northeast of Australia.
The leaked documents, described as a framework agreement on security cooperation, highlighted that the Solomon Islands could ask China to send armed police and military personnel to quell unrest, among other missions, including disaster response. It also said that the Solomon Islands could allow Chinese naval ships to dock in the country, and protect the safety of Chinese residents and major projects.
The potential deal comes as the US, Australia, Japan, India and other Indo-Pacific actors have become increasingly concerned about China boosting its maritime capabilities, its militarization of the South China Sea, and its increasing footprints in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.
Mao Zedong (毛澤東) claimed that the People’s Republic of China would never participate in foreign military exercises and would never have bases abroad.
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