Samoa signs bilateral agreement with China

• 

Samoa signed a bilateral agreement with China on Saturday, promising "greater collaboration" as Beijing's Foreign Minister continues a tour of the South Pacific that has sparked concern among Western allies.

A press release from the Samoan government confirmed that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa had met and discussed "climate change, the pandemic and peace and security."

The release said that China would continue to provide infrastructural development support to various Samoan sectors and there would be a new framework for future projects "to be determined and mutually agreed."

"Samoa and the People's Republic of China will continue to pursue greater collaboration that will deliver on joint interests and commitments," the release affirmed.

The Chinese delegation has already visited the Solomon Islands and Kiribati this week.

The delegation arrived in Samoa on Friday night and was to depart for Fiji on Saturday afternoon, with other stops expected to be Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor.

It is noteworthy that Australia's new Foreign Minister Penny Wong was in Fiji on Friday, seeking the support of island states after the Solomon Islands last month signed a wide-ranging security pact with China.

"We have expressed our concerns publicly about the security agreement," Wong told reporters in the capital of Suva.

"As do other Pacific islands, we think there are consequences. We think that it's important that the security of the region be determined by the region. And historically, that has been the case. And we think that is a good thing," he pointed out.

At the first stop in Honiara on Thursday, Wang lashed out at "smears and attacks" against the security pact already signed with the Solomon Islands.