Australia’s foreign minister denounces China’s ‘secret’ security deal with Solomon Islands

Marise Payne has denounced the “secret” terms of China’s security deal with Solomon Islands, while insisting “no document signed and kept away from public view” would change Australia’s commitment to answering Pacific countries’ needs. The foreign affairs minister said the agreement was “not transparent” – unlike Australia’s existing security treaty with Solomon Islands – and was also being hidden from other Pacific countries. As the Coalition continues to reject Labor’s claims it presided over the worst Australian foreign policy failure in the Pacific in decades, Payne said other members of the “Pacific family” shared Australia’s concerns about the secretive arrangement.

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