The controversial security deal struck between Solomon Islands and China that caught the western world off guard was needed to maintain internal security and help fight climate change, a leading Solomon Islands official has said, defending his country’s right to choose its allies.
Speaking to the Guardian in his first interview since the deal between China and Solomon Islands was leaked, Collin Beck, the permanent secretary of foreign affairs and a senior figure in the Solomons government, also said Australia should question whether it had been “fair” to Solomon Islands in its intense scrutiny of the deal.
.Beck, who is believed to have been involved in negotiating the deal with China, presented one of the most comprehensive defences of it from a Solomons’ government official yet, saying the deal was designed to address development needs in the Pacific nation and to address “domestic security threats”.
Beck said Solomon Islands faced domestic challenges, including a population growing at a faster rate than the economy could support. “When we look at the security vulnerability of the country, you know, we have youth population, about 18,000 youth looking for jobs every year.”
Chronic unemployment, as well as frustrations with the policies and leadership of the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, were thought to be behind riots in Honiara last year that left three people dead.
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