Washington to reopen Solomon Islands embassy to counter Beijing's influence
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NADI (Fiji) • The United States will re-establish an embassy in the Solomon Islands, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday, in an effort to counter China's influence in the politically troubled Pacific island.
Mr Blinken announced the move during a visit to nearby Fiji, where he met virtually with around 18 Pacific island leaders to stress Washington's attention to the region in a bid to curb Beijing's push for greater influence.
The US closed its embassy in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara in 1993 and is now represented by a consulate there, directed from its embassy in Papua New Guinea.
Washington's move comes just a few months after riots in the island chain of 800,000 people last November when protesters tried to storm Parliament and went on a three-day rampage, torching much of Honiara's Chinatown.
The unrest was sparked by opposition to veteran Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and partly fuelled by poverty, unemployment and inter-island rivalries, but anti-China sentiment also played a role. US officials have said they are particularly concerned about China's growing influence in the Solomons.
The administration of President Joe Biden said that despite its current preoccupation with the Russian threat to Ukraine, it sees the Indo-Pacific - where China is increasingly expanding its footprint - as the crucial focus of future security, political and economic strategy.
Washington's effort coincided with five Micronesian nations - the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau - suspending plans to break away from the Pacific Islands Forum, a crucial regional bloc of 18 island states.
The five territories announced a year ago that they were quitting the group after their nominee lost the vote for a new forum secretary general.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
