Prime Minister Scott Morrison has denied his government “dropped the ball” over China’s military presence in the Solomon Islands.
The Solomon Islands opposition leader Matthew Wale said he had previously issued a warning about China but Australia did nothing about it.
Asked by a reporter on Monday whether he had dropped the ball on the issue, Mr Morrison said: “Absolutely not. We’ve been aware of the risks right across the Pacific.”
The Prime Minister said it was for that reason that Australia had doubled its development assistance into the Pacific and provided support to Solomon Islands.
“We were the first country that Solomon Islands called to go and provide help to them to stabilise and give security to their country,” he said.
“Now the AFP are still there and they’re going to be there for a long time to come.
“The reports that we’ve seen are not a surprise to us, and are a reminder of the constant pressure and threats that present in our region to our own national security.”
Mr Morrison said he would speak with the Prime Ministers of Fiji and Papua New Guinea later on Monday.
He also confirmed he had been in contact with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over the weekend.
“This is an issue of concern for the region, but it has not come as a surprise,” Mr Morrison said.
“We have been long aware of these pressures.”
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce suggested Beijing might be deliberately trying to restrict access to maritime waterways for Australia.
“We’re engaged because we are not blind to the tactics of other people who are going through the process of trying to restrict our capacity of movement and intimidate us,” he said.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese told reporters on Monday that he had received briefings from the national security agencies about the situation in the Solomon Islands.
Asked if he would make a commitment to increase foreign aid, Mr Albanese said it was “not just about money” and added climate change was the biggest issue.
“If you go to the Pacific, if you meet with leaders in the Pacific, the first thing they raise with you is not aid — it is climate change,” he said.
“The second thing they raise with you is climate change. The third thing they raise with you is climate change.
“While Australia sits in the naughty corner at international conferences such as Glasgow, with a Prime Minister giving an empty speech to an empty room with no increase in ambition for 2030, then we continue to alienate our friends in the Pacific.
“So, it’s about aid, but it’s also about so much more than that.
“It’s about having an understanding for the Pacific, for Tuvalu, for Kiribati. It is a matter of their survival. It’s the way that they see it.”
Mr Albanese said if Australia was going to continue to have a strong position in the Pacific, the nation had to be “good neighbours”.
After he was repeatedly asked why some nations were “running to China”, Mr Albanese said it was about attitudes towards Australia, which was influenced by our engagement in international affairs.
“Ring up someone in Fiji, or in the Solomons, or in Tuvalu, or any of those countries — one of the ways in which we counter what is going on, which is strategic competition in our region, is by being taken seriously as leaders in our region on climate,” he said.
“We’re not doing that at the moment. We’re not.”
He went on to add: “One ofxjmtzyw the most important issues for those countries is climate and one way we increase our influence with those countries is by taking action on climate change.”
