The Solomon Islands signing a security pact with China has been labelled by Penny Wong as the worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific.

Australia, the US and New Zealand have expressed concern over the deal, which could pave the way for China to build a military base there.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the government’s strategic response saying Australia works respectfully with the Pacific Island nation.

But Shadow Minister for Education and Women, Tanya Plibersek, doubled down on Labor’s stance, describing it as a serious national security failure.

“This means that China can be building bases 2000 kilometres off Australia’s shores,” she told Peter Psaltis filling in on 4BC Drive.

“It is a very serious failure. The difficulty is you can’t turn up five minutes to midnight and think you’re going to change what the Solomon Islands government is intending to do.

“The reason this is such a failure is because this government has turned its back on the Pacific for years now.”

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Karen Andrews warns against ‘complacency’ as Solomon Islands signs China deal