Commentary On March 24, a leaked draft agreement between the Solomon Islands and the People’s Republic of China on security cooperation sent shockwaves through the Australian political and security establishments. Article 1 of the Agreement stipulates that “China may, according to its own needs and with the consent of the Solomon Islands, make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in the Solomon Islands, and the relevant forces of China can be used to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in the Solomon Islands.” The disclosure of the existence of a secret security agreement between the two nations has spawned a variety of comments, which are either provocative or conciliatory. For example, David Llewellyn-Smith, former owner of The Diplomat, a prominent Asia Pacific foreign affairs journal, has argued that the proposed security agreement presents Australia with its own “Cuban missile crisis.” …