RT.com
22 Mar 2023, 23:43 GMT+10
Samoa has cautioned that Beijing's contract with Solomon Islands may ?morph into something else?
The awarding of a contract to a Chinese state-owned company to redevelop a commercial port in the Solomon Islands' capital, Honiara, may lead to deeper security tensions, the Prime Minister of Samoa Fiame Naomi Mata'afa has said.
The agreement struck between Beijing and Honiara will see the city's international port and two domestic wharves upgraded as part of a $170-million project to be completed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC). The Chinese state-run infrastructure development company has managed various foreign projects since its formation 43 years ago, including in Israel, Nigeria and Colombia. It was the only company to submit a tender bid for the Solomon Islands port redevelopment project.
However, the announcement of the deal has come at a time of concern by the United States and its allies about aggressive Chinese military expansionism in the Pacific region - concerns echoed by Samoa, which maintains friendly diplomatic relations with the US.
"This is a commercial port, although I think the fears are that it might morph into something else," Fiame said on Wednesday following a meeting with Australian leader Anthony Albanese. "I suppose we have to address that if and when it might happen."
She added: "Let's be quite clear, other countries also have military or naval stations within the region as well."
The announcement of the China-Solomon Islands redevelopment deal comes around a year after the two nations signed a security pact, which Australian officials warned could prompt a Chinese military build-up in the archipelago around 1,700 kilometers from Australia's northern coast. The country's Labor Party last year called the security pact "Australia's worst foreign policy blunder in the Pacific" in many years.
In its own response, Canberra said that it "closely monitors developments which might impact our national interest" but stressed that it supports legitimate and transparent developments which "deliver long-term economic benefits."
Honiara, meanwhile, has maintained its stance of being "a friend to all, enemy to none" after hosting meetings with senior representatives from both Washington and Beijing this week, with the US delegation led by its top Indo-Pacific coordinator, Kurt Campbell. Washington reopened its embassy in Honiara last month, in part to counter China's "growing influence" in the area, according to the US State Department.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Sierra Leone Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sierra Leone Times.
More InformationSAN FRANCISCO, California: Levi Strauss is parting ways with Dockers. The denim giant announced this week that it will sell the Dockers...
OTTAWA, Canada: Canada's inflation picture became more complicated in April, with headline inflation easing but core measures ticking...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks had a volatile day on Thursday after the House of Representatives narrowly passed President Donald...
ATLANTA, Georgia: Home Depot plans to hold prices steady despite the added strain of tariffs, the company said, but warned that some...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Department of Justice dropped a lawsuit last week against Southwest Airlines. The lawsuit, filed near the...
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Airbus is in discussions with Malaysian airlines to introduce its A220 aircraft, the company's Asia-Pacific...
Its time for the relationship between Moscow and its Middle Eastern partners to evolve into a new international institution Russian...
Dubai [UAE], May 23 (ANI): Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, leading a high-level all-party delegation, reiterated India's 'zero-tolerance'...
Nottingham [UK], May 23 (ANI): Former England cricketer Michael Atherton is mesmerised by 'amazing player' Harry Brook's enchanting...
London has signed an agreement transferring sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius while retaining a 99-year lease on Diego...
Nottingham [UK], May 23 (ANI): After scoring a ton against Zimbabwe during the ongoing one-off Test, Ollie Pope dismissed the growing...
NDB president Dilma Rousseff has said Algeria will strengthen the institution's global influence and regional development role ...