SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
In high-level US visit to Solomon Islands, China looms large
Honiara, Aug 5 (AFP) Aug 05, 2022
A high-ranking US delegation lands in the Solomon Islands Saturday, as Washington wrestles with Beijing for influence in the region months after the Pacific nation signed a secretive security pact with China.

China's growing might in the Asia-Pacific will be on display this weekend as it continues to stage military drills encircling Taiwan in a show of force following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman heads the US delegation visiting the Solomons for three days to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.

Sherman's father was a Marine who was seriously injured in the battle, a major offensive over six months in 1942 and 1943 that triggered a Japanese withdrawal and marked the start of major Allied operations in the Pacific.

The United States announced this year it plans to re-establish an embassy in the Solomons nearly 30 years after closing its last mission.

China, which has an embassy in the Solomons with close ties to its government, alarmed Western rivals by signing an undisclosed security pact with the island in April.

The deal, which critics fear could lead to China gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific, is likely high on the agenda for the US visit.


- 'Double-edged sword' -


"It's a difficult path for the US to tread in a sense that, obviously, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare really values his country's relationship with China," Mihai Sora, a research fellow in the Pacific Islands Program at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, told AFP.

"The notion that he would have to pick between the US and China would not be welcomed. He will be looking for a way to work with both the US and China."

But not everyone in the Solomons supports growing security ties with China, he added: "It's a double-edged sword."

The Solomons severed ties with Taiwan in September 2019 in favour of diplomatic relations with China, a switch that unlocked investment but stoked inter-island rivalries.

Last November, protests against Sogavare's rule escalated into riots in the capital Honiara, during which much of the city's Chinatown was torched before Australia led an international peacekeeping mission to help restore calm.

On the home front, the Solomons prime minister is being accused by the opposition of undermining democracy.

Sogavare has reiterated his government's intention to defer general elections from next April until after the Pacific Games, which the Solomons hosts in November 2023.

China is financing a national stadium complex reportedly worth $53 million to host the Games.


- 'War on media freedom' -


The Solomons leader has also drawn flak for attacking the public broadcaster, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation.

This week, Sogavare's office accused the broadcaster of propagating "lies and misinformation", saying it had neglected its duty to "practice, fair, responsible and ethical journalism".

The prime minister's office said standards in local media had "decayed over the years to a point where pretty much anything gets published just to make a buck".

In response, the International Federation of Journalists warned against "an assault on press freedom and an unacceptable development for... the democratic political process".

The federation had already raised concerns when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Solomon Islands in May.

The tour featured heavily restricted press conferences, with local journalists collectively confined to one question for Wang.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Out of the string theory swampland
Where did cosmic rays come from? MSU astrophysicists are closer to finding out
Silicate clouds discovered in atmosphere of distant exoplanet

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Auto sector reels from China's rare earth restrictions
c-FIRST Team Sets Sights on Future Fire-observing Satellite Constellations
Leaders warn race for minerals could turn seabed into 'wild west'

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Japan says two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific
NATO learns as Ukraine's 'creativity' changes battlefield
Rare earths: China's trump card in trade war with US

24/7 News Coverage
'No doubt' Canadian firm will be first to extract deep sea minerals: CEO
What is the high seas treaty?
World leaders urged to step up for overexploited oceans



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.