Latest / The Slippery Slope / Why has the Solomon Islands blocked foreign ships from entering its ports and is China behind it?
Transcript
- 0:05Hi Jay felon here, and thank you for listening to the slippery
- 0:08slope. I'd ask if you're listening on
- 0:10Spotify, Apple, whatever platform please like share,
- 0:14subscribe if you haven't already subscribed.
- 0:16That'd be fantastic. So, let's continue talking about
- 0:20China and now China in the Solomon Islands, what's going on
- 0:24over there? In the Solomon sensor.
- 0:27Couple of Naval vessels. Tried to dock at the port's.
- 0:30This headline. From the Independent says, why
- 0:33has the Solomon Islands blocked? Foreign ships from entering its
- 0:36ports and is China behind it. Yeah, I'm going to guess that
- 0:41they are behind it. Anyway, the Solomon Islands has
- 0:44moved to temporarily stop all foreign Naval vessels from using
- 0:48its Waters apparently as part of a bid to shore up control over
- 0:52its exclusive economic zones. So am a NASA.
- 0:57So Guevara is the prime minister of the, the Solomon Islands said
- 1:02on Tuesday, that the suspension would be in Ice until the
- 1:06adoption of a new approval process with ship seeking access
- 1:10to its ports was agreed in the wake of the Oliver Henry and HMS
- 1:15spay vessels, belonging to the US Coast Guard and Royal Navy
- 1:19respectively being turned away last week when they made
- 1:23refueling requests, he says, the Prime Minister says we have
- 1:28requested, our partners to give us time to review and put in
- 1:32place and new processes before. Any further requests for
- 1:36military vessels to enter the country.
- 1:39Mr. Sagar, very has said, in a statement to the Reuters news
- 1:42agency, these will universally apply to all visiting Naval
- 1:47vessels. He added that the Solomon
- 1:49Islands has had unfortunate experiences of Naval.
- 1:53Foreign Naval vessels entering the country's Waters during the
- 1:56course of the year. Without diplomatic clearance.
- 1:59Granted saying, the process review had been undertaken to
- 2:03boost its powers to Is its own ports.
- 2:06While a change of administrative protocol, might not immediately
- 2:10strike the West, as cause for concern relationships, or
- 2:14relations between the Solomon Islands, the US and its allies
- 2:19have become more tense since the country struck a security pact
- 2:23with China in late March. So The Pact allows Beijing to
- 2:28send police and military personnel to the Solomons to
- 2:32assist in maintaining social Order this was happened.
- 2:37This happened following riots last November, while also
- 2:41opening the door for Chinese warships, to weigh anchor there
- 2:46for logistical replenishment. I've got to say that these riots
- 2:51were well, realistically. There were caused by the
- 2:56relationship that has been nurtured by the prime minister
- 3:00of the Solomon Islands. It's a the Solomon Island
- 3:04people. Generally don't like it.
- 3:07However, he is gone. He has forged ahead with this
- 3:10relationship and I don't think it's the, I don't think it's for
- 3:14the benefits of the Solomon Island people.
- 3:17I think it might be, in my opinion, for his own benefit.
- 3:20So it mr. Saiga Vari a 67 year old karate
- 3:24black belt. I don't know why that's in the,
- 3:27in the news article what? He's a karate, black belt.
- 3:30Okay, in his fourth stint as Premier.
- 3:33Sorry, I called him Prime. These Premier has insisted
- 3:37honiara will not allow such a base to be built on its
- 3:41territory, but China's interest in the country which already
- 3:45extends to construction telecommunications and Mining
- 3:49continues to grow. I am going to call rubbish on
- 3:53his on his call that they will not allow a base a military base
- 3:59to be built, I think he's lying through his teeth, I think it
- 4:02will happen and I think China will force the The issue and
- 4:06it'll all come about for the benefits of the Solomon Islands,
- 4:09island people, and He will get a lot richer in the meantime.
- 4:14So the article goes on to say that Australia, which signed its
- 4:17own security pact with the Solomon Islands in 2017, had
- 4:21urged the country not to deal with Beijing and its
- 4:24International Development leader.
- 4:26Z Cecil Gia, so Soldier earlier this year pronounced himself
- 4:34deeply Disappointed that the deal had gone ahead and
- 4:37expressed concern about the lack of transparency with which this
- 4:42agreement has been developed noting its potential to
- 4:46undermine stability. In our region, US state
- 4:49spokesman Ned price likewise expressed unease at the prospect
- 4:54of China. Securing a foothold on the
- 4:57islands, the site of several thousand American deaths during
- 5:01the Guatemalan campaign in the Second World War.
- 5:05Mr. So Guevara has responded by insisting.
- 5:08The deal was one based on mutual respect for sovereignty and in
- 5:13compliance with domestic and international law.
- 5:16And that we extend, we entered into an arrangement with China
- 5:20with their eyes wide open Guided by a national interest, he said
- 5:25wow, eyes wide open. I think he is entered into an
- 5:29agreement chasing fool's gold in on a Fool's errand because when
- 5:33China gets what China. Holmes Solomon Islands or at
- 5:37least, his leadership will be pushed to the side and I do not
- 5:41believe that the Chinese government will have any regard
- 5:45whatsoever for the Solomon Islands people as I believe that
- 5:48this leadership in the Solomon Islands is only trying to
- 5:51feather its own nests. Like I said, they are on a
- 5:54Fool's errand thinking that they are gaining respect from
- 5:57Beijing, Beijing respects. No one except gold and itself.
- 6:05And it is in a tug of war with the United States for global
- 6:10domination. Not that the United States ever
- 6:12wanted global domination but Beijing and definitely does want
- 6:16global domination. It wants to be the superpower
- 6:19and it will run over whoever and whatever it needs to get there.
- 6:23It does not care. It is using the Solomon Islands,
- 6:27it is using this. The premier the the leader of
- 6:30the Solomon Islands is using the people and it will take It will
- 6:35wipe anything. It will want the whole island
- 6:37clean. If it thinks it's necessary for
- 6:40its own progression, if it thinks that it can help, them
- 6:45become the superpower. That it decides that it desires
- 6:48to be. Like I said, I believe that the
- 6:52premiere of the Solomon Islands is chasing a Fool's errand.
- 6:58Anyway, I hope I'm wrong. I don't believe I am but we'll
- 7:01see what happens. China as ever.
- 7:05Pushing its weight around. That's my opinion.
- 7:08Thank you for listening to the slippery slope.