Matthew Wale, the prominent opposition party leader in the Solomon Islands, claims to have warned Australian officials last year that Beijing and the Sogavare government were working on a military deal that would allow the People’s Liberation Army to base assets in the region. The deal, which surprised officials last week, was revealed after it began circulating online on March 24 and could open the door for Chinese security personnel, including police, soldiers, weaponry, and naval ships, to be stationed in the Pacific nation—based just 1,700 kilometres from the northern Australian city of Cairns. “I told the Australian high commissioner that there were discussions on something that would lead to a security agreement that may be open to security assets and shore base facilities was in the making,” he told The Australian. “I was already at that time aware (of the plan) because I was informed by somebody who was in those …