US military leader warns China's security deal with Solomon Islands sounds 'too good to be true'

General David Berger expressed concern over Chinese influence, while Australia's Pacific minister urged Solomon Islands to "consider not signing the deal".
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China's offer to deepen security ties with the Solomon Islands will come with strings attached, a top US general warned during a visit to Australia, in a sign the Pacific island nation may regret the proposed deal.

"My parents told me that if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is," U.S. Marine Corps commander General David Berger said Wednesday.

Asked about longstanding US concerns about a Chinese company leasing the port of Darwin, Berger was cautious, stressing it was a sovereign decision by Australia based on an outstanding national security review.

Before heading to Darwin, where more and more US Marines were deployed, Berger said: "If it's not about Australia, it's not about me either."

Berger's visit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity between the United States and Australia to try to block a proposed China-Solomon Islands security deal that could allow for regular visits by the People's Liberation Army Navy.

A draft leaked last month raised the possibility that China "could conduct ship visits, logistical supplies, and stopovers and transits in the Solomon Islands", while also deploying Chinese troops "to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and key personnel." Solomon Islands".

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare tried to allay concerns, saying his country has no intention of allowing China to build naval bases. But Sogavare also said, "It is very offensive to be labeled as unable to manage our sovereign affairs."

Berger said in a speech in Canberra on Wednesday that the United States must show humility in its engagement with Pacific nations, but also be open to possible long-term consequences.

Berger recalls the struggle for control of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands during World War II, when the United States and its allies sought to prevent Japanese forces from gaining a foothold on the strategically important site.

"A lot of things change in war. Not geography. Where... the Solomon Islands matters. It was then and it is now," said Berger of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

He said the proposed deal was "another example" of China's attempts to expand its influence. He expressed concern about "the way [it] happened and the impact on the countries involved."

Sogavare argued that the Solomons persecuted "friends and enemies of all."