In March, a draft security agreement between China and Solomon Islands was posted on social media. The deal, which was formally signed in April, sparked a furor in Australia and the United States, where it served as a stark wake-up call about Beijing’s growing influence among the Pacific Island states. China, Australia, and the U.S. have kept up an almost frenetic pace of diplomatic engagements with the region ever since.
Somewhat lacking in much of the discussion, however, was why Solomon Islands might have wanted the security agreement in the first place. What do the Pacific Island governments — and people — think about China?
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