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China ally Solomon Islands irked over conditions in Australia-brokered Pacific police deal

Foreign Minister Peter Agovaka expressed concern over the initiative, saying it ‘imposes conditions on our own domestic security’

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Pacific nation leaders pose for a group picture at a summit in Tonga on August 29. Photo: EPA-EFE
Solomon Islands on Friday aired reservations about a landmark Pacific policing deal brokered by Australia, saying it should not preclude them from working alongside new-found ally China.
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“There is one thing that is not so much nagging us, but it’s of concern,” Foreign Minister Peter Agovaka said on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga.

“The only thing that we do not agree to, is that it imposes conditions on our own domestic security.

“I don’t think another sovereign state should put conditions on another sovereign state.”

US ally Australia convinced its Pacific neighbours to back an initiative giving it a greater role training the region’s scattered and stretched police forces.

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Hailed as a “godsend” by nations such as Fiji, others closer to Beijing appeared far more reluctant to get on board.

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