China has said it has signed a sweeping security pact with the Solomon Islands that the US and its regional allies fear could give Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that the foreign ministers of China and the Solomon Islands recently formally signed a framework agreement on security cooperation.

A draft version of the agreement, leaked last month, shocked Western governments with provisions allowing the deployment of navies to the crisis-hit Pacific island nation, AP reported.

According to the project, at the request of the Solomon Islands, armed Chinese police could be deployed to maintain public order.

Australia is concerned that the agreement could lead to Beijing establishing a military presence less than 2,000 kilometers away.

Wang Wenbin accused Western powers of deliberately exaggerating tensions over the pact and questioned the motives behind the upcoming visit by US officials.

The security deal represents a normal exchange and cooperation between two sovereign and independent countries, he said.

Attempts to intervene and prevent the cooperation of the island countries with China ... are doomed to failure, he added.