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WELLINGTON: Solomon Islands said on Tuesday (Oct 4) it had objected to the first draft of a United States-Pacific partnership declaration because it was “not comfortable” with some indirect references to China.
The Solomons’ foreign minister, Jeremiah Manele, was quizzed by reporters in New Zealand about his country’s reported qualms over the joint statement, signed in Washington last week.
“In the initial draft there were some references that we were not comfortable with,” the foreign minister said.
These “put us in a position that we have to choose sides and we don’t want to be placed in a position that we have to choose sides”, Manele said.
Asked if those references were to China, he replied: “Indirectly.”
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