Solomons PM Says Australia Sees Them as ‘Kindergarten Students’

(Bloomberg) --

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison denied there is a growing rift between his government and the Solomon Islands, after the Pacific nation's leader accused Australia of treating his country like children with guns.

In a fiery speech to the Solomon Islands' parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare accused Western countries of trying to undermine his government after the Solomons signed a security agreement with Beijing in April. Sogavare said the Solomon Islands was being treated as “kindergarten students walking around with Colt 45s in our hands” who needed “to be supervised.” “We are insulted,” Sogavare said.

There has been an escalating war of words between Australia and the Solomon Islands after the agreement struck between Honiara and Beijing to provide domestic security. No final version of the deal has been released but a draft version leaked in March included a provision for Chinese warships to be given safe harbor in the Solomon Islands, just 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the Australian coastline.

Morrison had previously said a Chinese military base in the Solomon Islands would be a “red line” for his government, although he didn't elaborate on what action he would take to prevent it. Speaking on Tuesday, Sogavare said there had been a “warning of military intervention” in the Solomon Islands, if other countries' security goals were undermined.

“We are threatened with invasion, Mr Speaker. Now that's serious,” Sogavare said.

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Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Thursday, Morrison repeatedly dismissed questions over whether or not he had damaged the relationship between Australia and the Solomon Islands with his comments. When asked why he hadn't spoken to the leader of the Solomon Islands, Morrison said he was following the advice of Australian security agencies.

Morrison said the Solomon Islands had previously reassured Australia it was still the “primary security partner of the Solomon Islands.”

“That is why the Australian Federal Police right now are on the ground in Solomon Islands, ensuring peace and stability following the unrest in the Solomon Islands. We have our police there and defense forces on the ground,” he said.

The growing tensions come as a poll by Resolve, published in the Sydney Morning Herald, showed 71% of Australian voters surveyed said they were concerned about the deal between China and the Solomon Islands. Neither the government nor the opposition Labor Party was overwhelmingly trusted to solve the situation either, with 32% of voters saying Morrison was best suited to tackle it, while 29% said they would prefer Labor leader Anthony Albanese.

The poll also found the government's advantage over Labor on handling Australia's national security had fallen to just 14%. The margin of error in the poll was 2.6%. Voters in Australia go to the polls on May 21.