U.S. to ‘Respond Accordingly’ If China Sets Up Base in Solomons - Bloomberg headline April 23
- U.S. will have “significant concerns” over Chinese base, Solomons PM says there will be no long-term Chinese presence
Tiny island nation proves that the West only believes in its own ‘spheres of influence’
Australia and the US believe the Solomon Islands must not be allowed to partner up with China, showing a selective respect for self-determination
Russia is bad. There is no excuse for attacking Ukraine, and the argument that it was a strategic imperative to stop NATO’s encroachment is just propaganda, right? That’s what every source in the mainstream media will tell you. But oddly enough, that logic never seems to apply when western countries perceive rival states to be encroaching on their own peripheries, and there’s been no bigger example of that than as to how American and Australian political classes have reacted to the now signed “Bilateral security agreement” between China and the Solomon Islands, a small archipelago which exists not far from Papua New Guinea.
The deal was confirmed this week, despite Australia and the US having piled on scores of official visits in a bid to try and halt it. This has been combined with a media narrative of extreme paranoia claiming, without due evidence, that China is set to build a naval base on the islands and poses a direct military threat to Australia in turn. This has produced some hysterical commentaries, with a founder of The Diplomat Magazine even literally calling for bombing and regime change in the island nation.
It seems strange that the same countries who said that Ukraine has a right to “choose” its allies, or in other words self-determination, do not seem to apply that logic to countries who choose to tilt towards perceived rival states, and there’s plenty of historical examples to back it up with.
The consensus is, whether expressed in moderate or explicit terms, that more must be done to “remove” the influence of China from the Solomon Islands, with the assumption that only the US and its allies act in the true interests of the state and its people. It’s as if there is no comprehension whatsoever as to why the Solomon Islands may not consent to be under the hegemony of Australia and the United States, and why it is obviously going to prefer a strategy of “hedging” to maximize political space and opportunity for itself, rather than being forced to exclusively pick one side. This is demonstrative of the elitist mindset which dominates these countries.
The Western powers’ insincere concern for Ukraine and their hypocrisy in believing that only they themselves are entitled to “spheres of influence” and they must have an infinite right to encircle rival countries without any right of reply. Russia’s narrative about the threat emanating from Ukraine is simply “propaganda,” we are told, yet China making an ambiguous deal with a tiny island nation of just 700,000 or so is somehow deemed an imminent and escalatory threat to Australia itself. Is it not time we started to question this narrative?
- RT (You can share this story on social media)- Anonymous
7 comments:
Time for the 'Principled Countries' to show their hand. Big powers threatening small little countries, without provocation, mind you, is happening. Wonder what is the UN doing?
The disunited United Nations is now basically a useless entity. It's is no more neutral. Nor is it central. It's whole purpose is now to fight the Evil USA War, on all fronts.
The other states such as China, India. Russia, etc must get together to form an alternative international investment arm, so as to substitute the disunited United Nations.
Seems no one really has much knowledge of the Solomon islands.
RT is Russian state propaganda? Worse than ST. LOL!
US and Australia spreading fake news – Beijing
Beijing has dismissed as “fake news” allegations made earlier by Canberra and Washington that China is intending to set up a military base in the Solomon Islands.
At a press conference on Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, insisted that the “so-called Chinese military base in the Solomon Islands is completely fake news made up by a few people with ulterior motives.” The diplomat also pointed out that cooperation between the two nations was “based on the principles of mutual equality, mutual benefit and win-win results.”
Wenbin called out Washington’s hypocrisy, saying that the US was among the loudest voices expressing concern over China’s alleged plans to set up a base in Oceania, while itself having “nearly 800 military bases in more than 80 countries.”
The Chinese official went on to remind Washington that the Solomon Islands is an “independent sovereign country, not the ‘backyard’ of the United States and Australia.”
Last Tuesday, China announced that State Councilor Wang Yi and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele had signed a security pact between the two nations.
The US was quick to express concern. The White House National Security Council’s spokesperson claimed that the signing followed a “pattern of China offering shadowy, vague deals with little regional consultation in fishing, resource management, development assistance and now security practices.”
Several days later, the White House revealed that the American delegation to the Solomon Islands had warned the nation’s leadership that the US would “respond accordingly” should Chinese military installations appear in the country.
Canberra has also made it clear that such a military base, which would be some 2,000km (1,200 miles) from Australia’s shores, would represent a “red line.”
Meanwhile, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare insisted that the deal was necessary to beef up security and was “guided by our national interests.” He stated last week that the agreement does not allow China to set up a military base on the islands.
The USA and Australia are trying to relive the days when only the Whites have the right to colonise whichever country they set foot on. They came, they saw, they stole is all there in the history books. Oh yes, to paper over it, they call it discovered. As if no one already lived in those countries they 'discovered'. Hypocrites.
Morrison Draw Red Line Insulting Solomon Islands
Australian PM Morrison just drew a "red line" for China. Aussie media widely reported on Sunday that Morrison claimed China building a military base on the Solomon Islands would be "red line" for both Australia and the US. "We won't be having Chinese military naval bases in our region on our doorstep," he was quoted as saying, adding "I share the same red line that the US has."
Wait. Are Australia and the US, the countries which have been provoking other countries, setting the standard for a "red line?" Has NATO, which provoked Russia for decades through an eastward expansion respected Russia's red line? And has Australia, which kept sending lethal weapons to the war zone to support Ukraine, ever taken Russia's red line into account?
Over the years, Washington and Canberra have been constantly stirring up trouble in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in terms of the Taiwan question, South China Sea issue, and the disputes over the Diaoyu Islands.
US arms sales to Taiwan island have been going on for a long time, and quite recently, Washington not only sent a high-level delegation of politicians to the island, even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - the third-ranking political figure in the US, behind the president and vice president - had reportedly planned to visit Taiwan island. Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton, on the other side, has pledged allegiance to the US in so-called defending Taiwan.
Apart from that, the two have also attempted to draw Southeast Asian claimant countries to their side to contain China. US President Joe Biden once said Article 5 of the US-Japan Security Treaty will be applied to the defense of the Diaoyu Islands, and Australia has been pointing fingers at China's claim of the South China Sea.
Yet Taiwan island, South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands are Chinese territories. Is the Solomon Islands part of Australian or US soil? No. The Solomon Islands is a sovereign country. When China draws its red lines based on its own territory, sovereignty and core interests, Canberra and the US are doodling their red lines far away from their borders, turning a blind eye to others' sovereignty.
Morrison said he "won't be having Chinese military naval bases in our region on our doorstep". His wordings triggered a question: Why could the US have its military bases worldwide, at a number of other countries' doorsteps, and can carry out its freedom of navigation operations wherever it wants? What a tale of two rules-based orders.
The relevant standard of the US and Australia has been ironic: They can provoke, but whoever fights back would be called an "aggressor." They can condemn any country, yet whoever talks back will be labeled a "wolf worrier;" They can have all forms of military cooperation with others, but China's legitimate security collaboration with others is a "threat."
When Morrison made the "red line" rhetoric, he jeopardized the red line of the Solomon Islands, an independent country, by failing to respect the latter's diplomatic sovereignty. The Australian government is so used to making decisions on behalf of Pacific island countries, with the belief that those islands should naturally follow its "guidance." Such a mentality can be viewed as Australian neo-colonialism.
No country has the right to set security red lines beyond its borders. Morrison wanted to be tough to China, but deliberately mentioned the US to support its stance, which mirrors how much nerve Australia actually has. Western countries like to say "speak from a position of strength." Without enough strength, a country is not qualified to draw red lines for others.
- Beijing
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