The Czar has a fight on his hands for now, but the Emperor moves on.
A leaked security co-operation agreement has revealed that the Solomon Islands could allow Chinese soldiers and police to be deployed in the Pacific nation, which might also resupply People’s Liberation Army vessels.
The draft agreement, which was leaked on Thursday and which two people with direct knowledge of the document said was authentic, will give China a military foothold in the Pacific Ocean and alarm the US and its allies.
The agreement included clauses that PLA vessels would be protected by Chinese security personnel when they docked in the Solomon Islands. Chinese forces could also be called on to control “social unrest” in the country and to protect Chinese personnel and projects…
Oh.
Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at Australian National University, described the draft document as symptomatic of “Belt and Road colonialism, China’s Indo-Pacific empire”.
This is just another reminder that, as the world starts moving into separate economic (and more) camps, there will be some unpleasant surprises coming our way.
Security analysts said the draft suggested that the Chinese navy could be granted a permanent presence in the South Pacific, an area of growing strategic interest for Beijing, where its increasing military presence is watched with concern by the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Original source
#Wider #Wider #National #Review
