Australia, Solomon Islands deepen ties amid China missile concerns

HONIARA: Australia and the Solomon Islands pledged on Tuesday to deepen bilateral ties and criticised China’s test of a ballistic missile fired from a nuclear-powered submarine in the Pacific, a move experts said could sharpen strategic rivalry in the region.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who met Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale in Honiara on Tuesday, said Canberra did not want to see actions that could undermine peace and security in the Pacific.

“There is no doubt that this is a provocative act by China, which does destabilise the region,” Albanese said during a joint media briefing with Wale after their meeting in the Solomons’ capital.

Albanese said China did not follow the standard procedure of giving 48 hours’ advance notice before the test, but the “real concern” was that the missile was fired from a nuclear-powered submarine.

A nuclear submarine of the People’s Liberation Army Navy launched the missile carrying a dummy warhead toward international waters in the Pacific at 12.01 pm on Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The missile landed in “designated waters”, it added, without giving further details of the location.

China’s missile test drew criticism and concern from the US, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing hoped countries “will not over-interpret the matter”.

Though China is Australia’s largest trading partner, Canberra remains wary of Beijing’s expanding influence in the Pacific and is pursuing security deals with island nations to prevent China from establishing any permanent military presence in the South Pacific.

Australia and its ally the US have long considered the South Pacific within their sphere of influence.

Wale, who took office in May, said China is “a good friend of Solomon Islands but this is not something a friend does”.

“We don’t want to see any more countries – China, America, anybody – we don’t want anybody testing the ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) in the Pacific Islands region. That’s the bottom line. Be our friend, but don’t threaten us,” Wale added.

The Solomon Islands is viewed by analysts as having the closest ties to Beijing among Pacific nations after signing a security pact with China in 2022. The agreement prompted concern from the US and intensified Australia’s diplomatic efforts in the region.

Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, posted an image on social media showing the missile flying over the Philippines and landing between Tonga and Nauru, about 1,000km from the Solomon Islands.

“China just proved itself again to be a bully on the block,” Wu said in the post.

It is rare for China to fire long-range missiles into the sea. China last tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in 2024.

Talks on treaty to speed up

Albanese and Wale agreed to continue negotiations on a new comprehensive treaty amid a flurry of recent strategic announcements, with Australia signing pacts with Fiji on Monday and Vanuatu last month.

Albanese said Australia would like to speed up negotiations as soon as possible, adding he was aiming for a comprehensive treaty and arrangements with the Solomon Islands.

“We want quality, not at the expense of rushing things, but we have had now very constructive discussions,” he said.

Wale, during an official visit to Australia last month, said he would review the security deal with China.