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In separate agreements with Nauru, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Australia is attempting to edge out China’s influence in the region.
By Victoria Kim
Reporting from Sydney, Australia
A bank. A rugby team. A police force.
Over the span of 12 days — and in time for Christmas — Australia has unveiled a string of deals with Pacific Island nations to dole out what those countries may have put on the top of their wish lists. The agreements appeared to be the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts aimed at curbing China’s growing influence in a strategically vital corridor of the Pacific Ocean.
On Friday, Australia announced the latest deal, a $190 million ($118 million) deal for the Solomon Islands to expand its police force over four years.
The Solomon Islands are at the center of an intense festival between China, the United States and their allies. In 2022, the country of 700,000 people signed a secret security pact that appeared to give Beijing broad latitude to exert its influence and use the islands as a stopover for military operations.
Signed after an era of violent unrest rocked the Solomon Islands in 2021, it allowed China to send armed police or military forces to help. The deal alarmed officials in Canberra and Washington.
Since then, the Biden administration has made a clear diplomatic push into the Pacific, opening embassies, pledging investments and hosting leaders at a summit at the White House while nudging Australia to build up its influence in the region.
But Chinese police education officials are already providing education in the Solomon Islands. The Australian deal announced on Friday does not appear to involve any commitment by the Solomon Islands to replace existing agreements with China or prevent them from entering into long-term agreements.
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