In a bid to counter China’s growing presence in the Pacific, the United States has announced plans to reopen its embassy in the Solomon Islands, which was closed in 1993.
Since then, US diplomats from Papua New Guinea have been accredited to the Solomons, where the US has a consular agency.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the announcement while visiting Fiji, promising to devote more diplomatic and security resources to the region.
Speaking at a Pacific Islands Forum virtual summit, Blinken stated: “Fiji and all the Pacific Island nations are a vital part of the Indo-Pacific region.” He said he hoped his visit would usher in more direct relations between the US and Pacific nations.
However, he downplayed the security aspect of his Pacific tour, stating that his visit was not focused on security reasons, but rather building a shared future.
An unnamed US official stated that China was “aggressively seeking to engage” political and business leaders in the Solomons, with its actions “causing real concerns.”
This announcement was made months after the 2021 riots in Honiara, the Solomon Islands’ capital. Protesters from Malaita traveled to Guadalcanal to seek an audience with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, demanding action over the unequal distribution of resources, the lack of economic support, poor government services, corruption and his controversial decision in 2019 to drop diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.
Riots erupted in November last year when Sogavare was accused of using money from a national development fund that comes from China. He also refused to meet the protesters, sparking violence that resulted in much of Honiara’s Chinatown being destroyed.
He then blamed foreign powers for orchestrating the protests because they did not want the Solomon Islands to have diplomatic relations with China.
In response to the protests and calls for help from the government, Australia sent troops and police to stabilize the situation. A total of 23 members of the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) Specialist Response Group, 50 AFP officers, and 43 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were deployed to the Solomons.
This deployment was made under the auspices of a 2017 agreement signed between Australia and the Solomon Islands. Apart from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea sent smaller military and police contingents to assist.
China also sent an ad-hoc police advisory team, non-lethal anti-riot equipment and offered to train Solomon Islands police under existing bilateral agreements.
The Solomon Islands has a critical strategic location in the South Pacific, straddling vital sea lanes of communication connecting Australia and the US to Asia. The Solomon Islands and other small Pacific states face significant development problems, such as their small size, remoteness, overcrowding, poverty and climate change.
While traditional partners of South Pacific states such as the US, Australia and New Zealand emphasize good governance practices, Pacific states are more inclined to accept tangible economic assistance, infrastructure and action against climate change.
China’s main interests in the South Pacific include isolating Taiwan diplomatically, protecting the significant Chinese expatriate population there and safeguarding its fisheries and mining enterprises.
While China has denied any expansionist or overt military agenda, its practices of elite co-optation, with its growing economic and military might, have raised security concerns within South Pacific states and their traditional partners.
One concern is that China can use trade bribery, corruption and debt to establish a military base in the South Pacific. In 2019, the Solomon Islands government vetoed China Sam Group’s attempt to lease Tulagi Island, which has the type of deep-water harbor coveted by the military.
Such a base would drive a wedge between Australia and the US, isolating it from its main ally, forcing Australia to go it alone in defense of its maritime interests.
However, South Pacific states are fiercely protective of their sovereignty and regional powers such as Australia, the US and New Zealand are devoting more diplomatic and economic attention to these fragile states to stave off China’s growing influence in their backyard.
So the possibility of China establishing a South Pacific base is remote at present.
Another concern is that China’s predatory political and economic practices can further undermine the already fragile political institutions of South Pacific states, which brings up a host of other security challenges, such as corruption, illegal migration, drugs and crime.
Some analysts argue that it was the neglect of the US and its partners towards South Pacific states’ needs for infrastructure and development that gave China a window of opportunity in the region.