Just before Campbell arrived, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare announced that he’d signed a new security pact with Beijing, the contents of which were being kept secret. But there were hints: Leaked documents suggested that in exchange for showering Sogavare’s government with economic aid, China would be empowered to bring in its armed forces and military police to protect its own interests—or Sogavare’s political survival. The bottom line was that Beijing gained another military foothold in the region, within 1,200 miles of Australia.
