Sounds like they rejected China’s offer of “protection”.
“Nice islands you got there. It’d be a shame if someone were to invade them”
Give it time, $$$$$$$$$ talks.
Perhaps these islanders have seen the results of similar agreements with the CCP in Africa. Maybe they don’t want their people being whipped as slaves.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall….
Palau and Iwo Jima said it’s a bad idea for the populace...
Article states.....” would’ve allowed China to establish a presence of security officers in their nations.”.....
Sounds like they want further control - rather like US Bases etc. throughout European countries.
The Solomon Islands already cut a security deal with China some months back and other Chinese deals on trade and cooperation were signed with Tonga and Samoa during Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip to the South Pacific.
Last week a story leaked out from Australia suggesting China wanted to get the whole group of ten nations to sign off on a security deal and the new Australian Foreign Minister flew to Fiji to talk with the Prime Minister there.
Then after China met the leaders of the ten nations in Fiji the story gets put out no big security pact with China involving the group of nations.
I see spin here emanating from Australia to downplay the slowly but steadily increasing Chinese influence in the region.
It’s also designed to make the new Australian government and Joe Biden look good to look as if they are successfully combatting Chicom influence in the South Pacific.
China doesn’t need a pact. The pact is just on the surface, while Yi visits each nation individually to build the empire.
These islands USED to be the Trust Territory of The Pacific Islands, awarded by the UN to the USA after WWII.
And the pussies in DC allow the Chinese to court them!?!?!?
good news.
They heard about the Chinese Sewage Dumps