The Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation, so twisting its arm to prevent it from signing a security pact with China would have been the wrong move, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison argued on Wednesday. He was responding to opposition criticism of his government’s failure to stop the deal, which was described as a “massive foreign policy failure” on its part.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese and the opposition party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Senator Penny Wong, lashed out at the government over the controversial deal during an election campaign event in Queensland state on Wednesday.
“Australia needs to do more than step up with the slogan in the Pacific, it needs to step up with real engagement, deep engagement, with our Pacific island neighbors,” Albanese said.
Morrison defended his government’s actions, saying his government respected the sovereignty of Honiara. Australia was treating the people of the Solomon Islands as siblings rather than children to be ordered around, he said.