One of the criticisms levelled at the Morrison government over its failure to stop Beijing signing a security pact with the Solomon Islands is that it appeared to be caught off guard.
The ABC has learned of a contributing factor to the diplomatic blindsiding and it's more mundane than you'd think — but nonetheless significant.
Australia's best contact on the ground wasn't there.
In fact, he was absent for almost six months, immediately before the draft agreement emerged publicly.
Dr Lachlan Strahan is Australia's High Commissioner in Honiara, where he has established a strong personal relationship with the Solomons Prime Minister and key figures in the Sogavare government.
And when Beijing was ingratiating itself with Manasseh Sogavare and his government, Dr Strahan was laid up in bed with a "serious back injury" in Canberra.
In early September, Doctor Strahan flew out of Honiara for his first trip back to Australia in more than a year, after working tirelessly with local authorities on the COVID response.
After completing 14 days of mandatory quarantine in Brisbane, the high commissioner finally arrived back in Canberra in late September.
Soon after getting home, the long-serving diplomat suffered a debilitating back injury and when anti-government riots erupted in the Solomon's capital in November, the senior diplomat was unable to travel back.
As the Australian government scrambled to respond to an urgent request from the Sogavare government for law-and-order assistance, Deputy High Commissioner Sally Anne Vincent remained in Honiara.
Two days before Christmas, China delivered an unwelcome surprise to the Australian government, announcing it had agreed to a request from Solomon Islands to send "a batch of police anti-riot equipment and an ad-hoc police advisory team".
Dozens of Australian diplomats in Honiara, including the Deputy High Commissioner, worked furiously to understand exactly what the new policing agreement involved, with some fearing a broader military deal was in the works.
Finally, in early February, the High Commissioner was given the all clear to fly back to Honiara.
Within weeks of Dr Strahan's return, his colleagues' worst fears were confirmed — a wide-ranging security agreement between Beijing and Honiara was close to being finished and a draft was leaked to the media.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that Ms Vincent acted as Head of Mission and undertook all the duties of the role.
"Ms Vincent is a seasoned and experienced diplomat," the department said in a statement.
"She had full access to Solomon Islands government counterparts including the Prime Minister and ministers."
The department said the Australian High Commission was staffed with 24 Australian government officers while Dr Strahan was injured.
