VOA新闻杂志--中国与所罗门群岛已正式签署双边安全合作框架协议

China: Security Agreement with Solomon Islands Officially Signed

China says it has officially signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands.

The deal has raised concerns among observers in Australia, the United States and other countries. They are concerned about China's growing influence in the South Pacific Ocean area.

Chinese Foreign Ministry¹ spokesman Wang Wenbin spoke² to reporters about the agreement Thursday in Beijing. He said the agreement was recently signed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Wang said the purpose of the agreement is to "promote social stability and long-term peace and security" in the Solomon Islands. He said it would not target any third party.

An early version, or draft, of the agreement appeared on social media in late March. At the time, the Solomon Islands confirmed it was negotiating a deal with the Chinese government in Beijing. The draft included a provision that could permit China to send armed police and soldiers to the Solomon Islands. It would also let China base its navy ships off the coast of the islands.

The draft agreement led to concerns in Australia and the U.S. that China would establish a military base in the Solomon Islands. The island group is less than 2,000 kilometers from Australia.

Zed Seselja is Australia's minister for the Pacific. He traveled to the Solomon Islands' capital, Honiara, to ask Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare not to sign the agreement.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang dismissed the concerns about the security deal in his announcement Tuesday. He accused the U.S. and Australia of "deliberately³" increasing tension. He added that such efforts would fail.

Prime Minister Sogavare has said the agreement will not include the establishment of a Chinese military base.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is sending a delegation⁴ to Honiara this week to discuss the agreement. The delegation will also discuss reopening a U.S. embassy there. The group is being led by Kurt Campbell, the White House Coordinator⁵ for the Indo-Pacific, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink.

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. delegation also plans to visit Fiji and Papua New Guinea on the trip.

Words in This Story

promote –n. to help (something) happen, develop, or increase

provision –n. something that is done in advance to prepare for something else

deliberately –adv. in a way that is meant, intended, or planned

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？