Credit: Xinhua News Agency. Penny Wong makes 'no strings attached' pitch to Pacific in veiled attack against China. Share this with family and friends. Chinese government insists it has 'no intention' to build military base in Solomon Islands China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has dismissed speculation about the purpose of his government's recent security pact with Solomon Islands, saying it has "no intention at all" to build a military base in the Pacific nation.
China has "no intention at all" to build a military base in Solomon Islands, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday, dismissing speculation about the purpose of its recent security pact with the island state. The Chinese minister, who was in Honiara at the start of an extensive tour of Pacific island states, said the security agreement Beijing sealed last month with the Solomon Islands government was "above board, with honesty and integrity".
A leaked draft of the security agreement - the final version has not been made public, contained a provision that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the island nation, which lies less than 2, kilometres from Australia.
There is no intention at all to establish a military base," Mr Wang told a news conference after meeting with Solomon Islands' foreign minister, Jeremiah Manele.
Australia's former government, toppled in 21 May elections, had said that any move to create a Chinese military base would amount to crossing a "red line", without specifying the consequences. But Mr Wang countered: "China's cooperation with Pacific Island countries does not target any country and should not be interfered or disrupted by any other country. He also took a swipe at previous Australian governments describing the Pacific islands as being in the country's "backyard".
