The prime minister of Solomon Islands has guaranteed there will never be a Chinese military base in his country, saying that any such deal with Beijing would undermine regional security, make Solomon Islands an “enemy” and “put our country and our people as targets for potential military strikes”. He has also said that Australia remains the “security partner of choice” for Solomon Islands and he would only call on China to send security personnel to the country if there was a “gap” that Australia could not meet. Speaking exclusively to…
Day: July 13, 2022
China’s Henan bank scandal not just a financial crisis, it may be a lasting political calamity: analysts
On Sunday, July 10, demonstrators hold up signs protesting against the freezing of deposits by some rural-based banks, outside a People’s Bank of China building in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The text in the foreground reads, “Henan Bank, return to us our legal deposits! The people’s life-saving deposits!” Photo: Reuters South China Morning Post
Xi Jinping has nurtured an ugly form of Chinese nationalism
“Abe is dead and that’s it,” a social-media user called Zhang Beihai wrote to her 2.6m followers on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform. “He deserved to perish.” Another Weibo user went further: “His whole family deserves to die.” The assassination of Abe Shinzo, Japan’s former prime minister, on July 8th elicited a wave of joyous reactions online in China, where he was widely reviled. “News just in,” quipped one. “us President Kennedy meets Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.” Japan is a common target of the nationalists who dominate China’s digital high…
‘We are family’: Anthony Albanese meets Solomon Islands PM amid tension over China deal
Anthony Albanese has met with the Solomon Islands prime minister in Suva to discuss their common interests of climate change and regional security issues, despite recent tensions between the two nations over China. It is the first time that Albanese has met Manasseh Sogavare. The relationship between the countries has become increasingly tense since the signing of the controversial security pact with China earlier this year, but ahead of the meeting Albanese reiterated the importance of the relationship and said it “will be even better after this afternoon”. The meeting…
Chinese FM Pledges Progress on South China Sea Code of Conduct
Advertisement Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday pledged to speed up consultations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the long-awaited Code of Conduct for the South China Sea. While it is unlikely to signal much progress on the perennially promised agreement, it does offer an insight into how Beijing is seeking to counter the recent U.S. diplomatic offensive in the region. Wang made the comments during a meeting with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah in Putrajaya, the final stop of a five-nation tour of Southeast Asia that…