SOLOMON ISLANDS – GEOGRAPHY
News: Solomon
Islands leader visits Beijing, highlighting U.S.-China rivalry in South Pacific
What's in the news?
● Leaders
of the Solomon Islands and China promised to expand relations that have fueled
unease in Washington and Australia about Beijing’s influence in the South
Pacific.
● Prime
Minister Manasseh Sogavare met Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the country’s No.
2 leader, Premier Li Qiang. Mr. Sogavare and Mr. Li presided over the signing
of agreements on police, economic and
technical cooperation.
Solomon Islands:
● Solomon
Islands is an island country consisting of six
major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua
New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
● Its
capital, Honiara, is located on the
largest island, Guadalcanal.
● It
consists of a double chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in Melanesia.
Solomon Islands and China:
● The
Solomon Islands, 2,000kilometres northeast of Australia, has been China's
biggest success in a campaign to expand its presence in the South Pacific.
● Solomon
Islands has changed its stance from Taiwan to Beijing and recognized Beijing in
2019.
● The
two governments have decided to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership of mutual respect and common
development.
● Agreements
signed by Solomon Islands and Chinese officials included an implementation plan
for police cooperation through 2025.
● However,
Mr. Sogavare rejected suggestions his government might give Beijing a military
foothold in the region.
Go back to basics:
● Solomon's
nearby island nation of Kiribati also
switched official relations to Beijing in 2019.
● China’s
efforts to develop closer relations with other Pacific governments have largely
failed.
US and South Pacific Island Nations:
● US
has responded by announcing plans to reopen an American Embassy in the Solomon Islands.
● Biden
convened a summit of Pacific Island
leaders in September to unveil a strategy that included cooperation in
climate change, maritime security and preventing overfishing.
● Biden
promised $810 million in new aid for
Pacific Island nations over the next decade, including $130 million to
address the effects of climate change.