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Australia accuses China of paying bribes to win deals

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 09 October 2019. EPA-EFE/THOMAS PETER / POOL" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/03/31/signing-ceremony-epa-efe-3312022.jpg"/><figcaption>Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 09 October 2019. <em>EPA-EFE/THOMAS PETER / POOL</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>SYDNEY - Australia&#x27;s defense minister on Sunday accused China of paying bribes for international deals but refused to say whether corruption played a role in Beijing&#x27;s newly signed defense pact with the Solomon Islands.</p><p>Peter Dutton made the allegations as his conservative government faced questions in the run-up to May 21 general elections about how China apparently outmaneuvered Australia by securing the agreement.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/01/22/china-solomon-islands-agree-on-security-pact">China, Solomon Islands agree on controversial security pact</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/19/22/china-says-it-has-signed-security-pact-with-solomon-islands">China says it has signed security pact with Solomon Islands</a></li></ul><p>The deal shocked the Solomon Islands&#x27; traditional allies Australia and the United States, which fear it may give China a military foothold in the South Pacific less than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Australia&#x27;s coast.</p><p>&quot;The Chinese don&#x27;t play by our rules,&quot; Dutton said.</p><p>&quot;If you look at what has happened in Africa, there are corrupt payments being made,&quot; he told Sky News Australia. &quot;We can never compete with that sort of playbook. We have values and we have the rule of law that we abide by.&quot;</p><p>Asked specifically if he believed corrupt payments were made to forge China&#x27;s deal with the Solomon Islands, which was announced by Beijing on April 19, the minister said he could not comment.</p><p>&quot;The reality is that China has changed,&quot; he added.</p><p>&quot;China&#x27;s incredibly aggressive acts of foreign interference, the preparedness to pay bribes to beat other countries to deals: that&#x27;s the reality of modern China.&quot;</p><p>A draft of the pact shocked countries in the region when it was leaked last month, particularly measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomons.</p><p>A White House delegation visited the Solomon Islands capital Honiara on Friday to warn of repercussions if China was to establish a permanent military presence in the Pacific nation under the new agreement.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/23/22/us-to-respond-if-china-puts-base-on-solomon-islands">US to ‘respond’ if China puts military base on Solomon Islands, says White House</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/19/22/us-diplomats-head-to-solomon-islands-amid-china-worries">Top US diplomats head to Solomon Islands amid China worries</a></li></ul><p>The White House said the officials had told Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare that the recently signed pact had &quot;potential regional security implications&quot; for Washington and its allies.</p><p>&quot;If steps are taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power-projection capabilities, or a military installation, the delegation noted that the United States would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly,&quot; the White House said in a statement.</p><div><strong>&#x27;NO MILITARY BASE&#x27;</strong></div><p>National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink led the delegation, which also included Pentagon officials.</p><p>According to the White House statement, &quot;Sogavare reiterated his specific assurances that there would be no military base, no long-term presence, and no power projection capability, as he has said publicly&quot;.</p><p>Sogavare&#x27;s government severed ties with Taiwan in September 2019 in favor of diplomatic relations with China, unlocking investment but stoking inter-island rivalries.</p><p>Last November, protests against Sogavare&#x27;s rule sparked violent riots in the capital, during which much of the city&#x27;s Chinatown was torched.</p><p>While the unrest was partly fueled by poverty and unemployment, anti-China sentiment was also cited as playing a role.</p><p>When asked about China&#x27;s influence in the Pacific, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters Friday that Beijing was exerting &quot;enormous pressure&quot; on leaders of Pacific island nations.</p><p>Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian in turn accused &quot;Australian politicians&quot; of &quot;coercive diplomacy&quot; in the region.</p><div><strong>burs-djw/je</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe __idm_id__="1490945" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1946046" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Australia's defense minister on Sunday accused China of paying bribes for international deals but refused to say whether corruption played a role in Beijing's newly signed defense pact with the Solomon Islands.