A Chinese company signs deal to ‘lease’ Pacific island 18/10/2019 – Posted in: Daily News
“PACIFIC ISLAND” ON LEASE
For: Preliminary & Mains
Topics covered:
- About the deal
- About Tulagi island and Solomon islands
Newsflash
A Chinese company signed an agreement to lease an entire island in the Solomon Islands.
The Solomons’ Central Province made a “strategic cooperation agreement” on Tulagi Island, which has the type of deep-water harbour coveted by the military, with the state-owned China Sam Enterprise Group for the development of the Special economic zone.
Highlights
- The agreement with China Sam mentions developing a refinery on the island, but its potential for dual use as a Chinese military base is certain to raise concerns with the United States and Australia.
- Party A (Central Province) is willing to first lease the whole Tulagi island and the surrounding islands to Party B (China Sam) for the development of the special economic zone.
- China Sam Enterprise Group also committed to cooperate with Solomons in many areas, including trade, infrastructure, fisheries and tourism.
Tulagi Island
Tulagi/Tulaghi is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule, is the site of a former Japanese naval base and was the scene of fierce fighting in World War II. Taiwan was previously the Solomons’ largest ally in the Pacific region.
Solomon islands
- The Solomon Islands, a nation of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in the South Pacific lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu. The country’s capital is Honiara.
- During World War II, the Solomon Islands campaign (1942–1945) saw fierce fighting between the United States and the Empire of Japan, such as in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Source: ET
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