Scott Morrison defended his national security credentials in the wake of Labor branding the Sino-Solomon security pact the worst foreign policy failure since World War II.
Diplomacy in the region cannot be heavy-handed or impinge on the sovereignty of the nation, Mr Morrison said.
"I'm very conscious of how visits are perceived within the Pacific. This was the right calibrated way to address this issue with the prime minister," Mr Morrison said.
"One of the things you don't do in the Pacific is you don't throw your weight around. They're a sovereign country and we have to respect their sovereignty."
Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong says a Chinese security agreement with a nation 1600 kilometres from Cairns has made the region less secure under Mr Morrison's watch.
"The risks that Australia faces have become much greater," Senator Wong said.
"The government should have acted sooner. What this deal signifies is that Australia is no longer for the Solomon Islands a nation to whom they turn to meet their challenges in every instance."
When asked whether Australia's standing in the Pacific had been diminished, with diplomatic concerns conveyed to Honiara ignored, Mr Morrison said the pact underscores the pressure China places on Pacific nations as it tries to undermine security in the region.
"You can't always be fully persuasive on these issues," he said.
"Now with this arrangement, we need to ensure we work with them to see that Australia's interests aren't compromised ... (and) that their strength and their sovereignty is not compromised by these types of arrangements."
Mr Morrison said the Solomon Islands government had stated it would not allow any Chinese naval bases.
"The prime minister of the Solomon Islands has made it very clear that they are not accepting of any base in the Solomon Islands," he said.
"They are not. That there is no basis to make that assertion."
But China will likely move fast to increase its presence in the region and establish a base by stealth, Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Malcolm Davis says.
"The Chinese are a powerful player and once they get a presence, an influence, in a country it's virtually impossible to get them out," he told the Nine Network.
"What you will see over the next year to two years is China increasing the pressure on the Sogavare government to establish what might look innocently at first as a police presence.
"Suddenly you find additional elements coming in and you end up with a military base by stealth."
China will move swiftly to create a foothold in the region, with the principle objective of being able to cut off Australia from a key sea-land communication with the United States, Dr Davis says.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Australia remains concerned about the lack of transparency regarding the agreement.
"Security issues have been dealt with in a Pacific-wide manner, that's the traditional approach for these issues, and that's why some Pacific partners have also raised concerns," she told the ABC on Wednesday.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told the country's parliament the agreement, centred around domestic security, was guided by the country's national interest.
"Let me assure the people that we entered into an arrangement with China with our eyes wide open, guided by our national interests," he said.
"We have full understanding of the fragility of peace and our duty as a state to protect all people, their property and critical national infrastructure of the country."
