The center-left criticized Canberra’s foreign policy towards China

The security agreement between Beijing and the Solomon Islands worries the Conservative majority, while the Labor opposition condemns «the most serious failure of Canberra’s foreign policy».

The Australian Conservative majority, which wanted to make national security one of the main issues in the legislative elections scheduled for May 21, did not assume that this topic would prevail long before the plebiscite and to its detriment.

Since the announcement of the signing of the security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands on April 19, allowing the presence of Chinese police and soldiers in the archipelago, located less than 2,000 km from the northeast coast of the island-continent, it has been the subject of fierce disputes. In particular, there has been controversy over Australia’s inability to prevent this agreement, which represents an unprecedented move by Beijing in close proximity to the continent, seriously worsening its strategic environment.

For the Labor opposition, this is nothing short of the worst «failure in Australia’s foreign policy in the Pacific since the end of World War II», according to Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong. The center-left formation criticizes the government for not taking the initiative on this issue and for «giving up» on the Australian preliminary square of the South Pacific.

In the event of an election victory, the Labour Party promises to send more than 350 million euros to this area to support projects in the field of employment, media, defense or even combating climate change – an existential threat to the states of Oceania, almost ignored by conservative leaders.