- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
China says it has signed security pact with Solomon Islands
China said Tuesday it has sealed a wide-ranging security pact with the Solomon Islands, an agreement the United States and its regional allies fear could give Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific.
The confirmation came a day after Washington discouraged a security agreement between the countries, with top US diplomats headed to the South Pacific this week to curb Beijing's inroads.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Tuesday: "The foreign ministers of China and the Solomon Islands officially signed the framework agreement on security cooperation recently."
He did not say when or where the signing took place.
A draft version of the agreement, leaked last month, rattled Western governments with provisions allowing for Chinese security and naval deployments to the crisis-hit Pacific island nation.
According to the draft, armed Chinese police could be deployed at the Solomon Islands' request to maintain "social order".
Australia is concerned the agreement could see Beijing establish a military presence less than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away.
Wang on Tuesday accused Western powers of "deliberately exaggerating tensions" over the pact, and questioned the motives behind US officials' upcoming visit.
The security deal represents a "normal exchange and cooperation between two sovereign and independent countries," Wang said.
"Attempts to interfere and obstruct the cooperation of island countries with China are... doomed to fail," he added at a regular press briefing.
-'Broad nature'-
Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's assurances that he does not intend to allow China to build a military base there has done little to alleviate Western concerns.
"The broad nature of the security agreement leaves open the door for the deployment of PRC military forces to the Solomon Islands," US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday.
The signing of the pact "could increase destabilisation within the Solomon Islands and will set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region," he added.
The White House's high-level delegation to the Solomons is expected to discuss its concerns, as well as the reopening of the US embassy in the former British protectorate's capital, Honiara.
Earlier this month, Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja travelled to Honiara to ask the prime minister in person not to ink the deal.
The United States and its Asian allies have voiced growing concern about China's assertiveness in the Pacific, where it is locked in several territorial disputes with neighbouring countries.
The Solomon Islands' switch of diplomatic recognition from self-ruled Taiwan to Beijing in 2019 unlocked huge amounts of Chinese investment, but the issue has been fraught with tensions.
The island nation of 800,000 has been wracked by political and social unrest, and many of its people live in poverty.
In November, protesters tried to storm the parliament and went on a deadly three-day rampage, torching much of Honiara's Chinatown.
The unrest was sparked by a range of tensions, including opposition to Sogavare's rule, inter-island rivalries and high unemployment, while anti-China sentiment also played a role.
Ferreira--PC