Australia is at risk of having its “own little Cuba” off the coast after the Solomon Islands signed a major security pact with China, Barnaby Joyce has warned.
Speaking to reporters in Mackay, the Deputy Prime Minister was blunt in his assessment of the deal that could lead to Beijing having a military presence 2000km off the coast of Australia.
“That will be absolutely – that’s a very bad day for Australia,” Mr Joyce said.
xjmtzyw“We don’t want our own little Cuba off our coast and that is not what is good for this nation, not what is good for this region.”
He continued by insisting the only way the nation could be strong and stand up to China was to “develop the Pilbara” in order “to make more money”.
“If you want to buy fighter planes or nuclear submarines, you got (to have) the cash in the bank to do it,” Mr Joyce said.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare confirmed he has signed the security pact with China in parliament on Wednesday morning despite protests from the US and Australia.
NED-5957-China's security deal with Solomon Islands
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the deal had the potential to undermine stability in the region.
“This has not been agreed in an open and transparent way. (It’s) not been consulted, for example, across the region,” she said.
“These declarations and these engagements on security issues have been dealt with in a Pacific-wide manner.
“That is the traditional approach for these issues and it‘s why some Pacific partners have also raised concerns.”
But Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong slammed the government’s handling of the deal, labelling it the “worst foreign policy failure since World War II”.
“On Scott Morrison’s watch, our region has become less secure and the risks Australia faces have become much greater,” she told the ABC.
“This should have been something that Mr Morrison dealt with, but he went missing.”
However, Senator Payne rejected the “unfair characterisation” that she or Prime Minister Scott Morrison could have done more to stop the deal.
“I don't think it recognises the sovereign decisions that governments of course make for themselves, and it also doesn’t recognise the strength and the engagement that Australia has made through the Pacific Step Up,” she said.
Pacific Minister Zed Seselja was rushed to the region last week in an unsuccessful bid to stop the deal.
The US has also dispatched a delegation to Solomon Islands’ capital Honiara to discuss the prospects of China establishing a military presence in the country.
