The Solomon Islands government has apparently confirmed that it will block some foreign journalists from entering the country, saying that reporters who “demean” or engage in “racial profiling” attacking its ties to China will be banned.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogaware’s office has repeatedly criticized ABC’s “Four Corners” program, which examined China’s growing presence in the Solomon Islands.

On Wednesday, the office released an extraordinary and lengthy statement, once again targeting the national broadcaster and Four Corners, accusing the program of creating racial stereotypes and “deliberately using disinformation and spreading biased biased information.”

ABC has already denied the allegations, saying it supports the episode and stressing that the main subjects of his interview were Solomon Islanders expressing concerns about China’s presence in the country, not foreign experts.

But in a statement, Mr Sogaware’s office insists that ABC’s scrutiny of China’s actions in the Solomon Islands amounts to “racial profiling,” saying the broadcaster is “trying to tell the people of the Solomon Islands that since the Solomon Islands government is opening up to partners who in the opinion of the ABC, who is not white and does not use a democratic system, he is wrong, unfit and corrupt.”

He then appears to use this claim as the basis for banning reporters, stating that “The Solomon Islands Constitution protects Solomon Islands from racial discrimination and the Solomon Islands government will ensure that racial practices are eliminated in Solomon Islands.”

“ABC or other foreign media should understand that the manner in which journalists are allowed to behave in other [countries] does not give them the right to act in the same way in the Pacific,” it says.

“Such organizations or journalists with such qualities will not be allowed to enter the Solomon Islands and other Pacific Island countries.”