Chinese company secures Solomon Islands port project amidst Australian scrutiny.

China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to upgrade an international port in Honiara, Solomon Islands, in a project funded by the Asian Development Bank. The United States and its allies, including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, have expressed concerns that China has ambitions to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year. However, the Solomon Islands and China have consistently denied that their security pact would allow a naval base.