Solomon Islands leader rules out China base in his country

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Solomon Islands prime minister has assured Australia that he would not “endanger his country” by allowing China to establish a naval base in the South Pacific. Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made his first visit to the Australian capital Canberra since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party came to power at elections in May. A bilateral security agreement between China and the Solomons signed early this year has raised concerns of a Chinese naval base being established in the South Pacific. Sogavare told Albanese before their meeting began in Parliament House that the Solomon Islands “will never be used for foreign military installations or institutions of foreign countries.”