Why the China-Solomon Islands agreement was too early to judge

How was the recent China-Solomon Islands security agreement assessed in May 2022?

He considered it far too early to judge, because an opening diplomatic move does not determine the later strategic contest.

Speaking in May 2022, the agreement is described as being in the first stages of a long development. Judging it immediately would be like predicting a chess match from the opening pawn moves. Early manoeuvres may look impressive without determining how the main pieces will be used or whether later execution will succeed. Russia's then-current attack on Ukraine is used as an example of an apparently prepared opening giving way to serious difficulty once principal forces moved. This is a warning about premature geopolitical forecasts rather than a prediction of the agreement's eventual outcome.