The Foreign Affairs Minister says New Zealand and Australia were both surprised by the China-Solomon Islands security agreement, describing it as a "relationship failure".
Beijing and Honiara last month agreed to a controversial security cooperation deal, which still hasn't been released publicly. A draft version leaked in March suggested a Chinese naval base could be established in the Solomon Islands, raising concern about the Pacific being militarised.
New Zealand and Australia have both said the Solomons should have looked for assistance from within the Pacific if it needed help with security issues, citing the Biketawa Declaration, a framework for coordinating regional security needs.
While Defence Minister Peeni Henare has said New Zealand was caught "off guard" by the leaked deal, how much the Australians knew remains unclear.
Australia's Prime Minister said the proposed pact wasn't a surprise, the Australian Foreign and Pacific ministers said the leaks were the first they knew of it, while Australian media reported their own intelligence agencies were involved in the draft's leak.
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta told the Guardian both countries - as well as most other Pacific Island nations - were surprised by it. Asked if it was an intelligence failure for the two countries, Mahuta instead called it a "relationship failure".
"That's why it's so important for the Solomons to provide a level of transparency - to ensure that we can elevate the conversations around the impact of those arrangements around regional security and regional sovereignty to the Pacific Islands Forum," she said.
But Mahuta was reported to have also said the Solomons bear some responsibility for the breakdown.
"It would be good manners, and good protocol, to enable your neighbours to have a greater awareness and understanding of your concerns around regional security prior to entering into relationships outside the region," she said.
"While we respect the sovereignty of the Solomons and any nation in the Pacific, we also respect our contribution towards supporting and strengthening the cohesion of the Pacific."
That was New Zealand's view, she said, and shouldn't be conflated with Australia's. Mahuta was taking "at face value" assurances from Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare that a Chinese naval base wouldn't be built.
"We would be deeply concerned if the nature of these arrangements led to the militarisation of the Solomon Islands."
New Zealand and Australia deployed defence and police personnel to Honiara during unrest in late 2021. Those hostilities were partly caused by the Solomon Islands government withdrawing recognition of Taiwan in 2019 and establishing relations with Beijing. New Zealand in March extended that deployment, which will be reviewed again on May 31.
"[We] have continued to reiterate with the Solomons and China our view, alongside the Pacific, that collectively we are ready and available to meet the security needs of our neighbours," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said last month.
"We see no need for this agreement. We are concerned about the militarisation of the Pacific and we continue to call on the Solomons to work with the Pacific with any concerns around their security that they may have."
White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell visited Honiara late last month to deliver the US' concerns. A statement from the White House warned there would be a response if a Chinese military presence was established.
"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," the statement said.
"The United States emphasised that it will follow developments closely in consultation with regional partners."
