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Power Play
Why small Pacific islands matter in big power rivalry
China's signing of a security pact with the Solomon Islands has rattled the US, which seems to have lost sight of the geostrategic importance of the South Pacific.
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Eighty years ago, the battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands saw some of the fiercest fighting of World War II.
That campaign was the first major land offensive by the United States against the Japanese, and marked a turning point for the Allies, as they sought to wrest back the Pacific Islands from Japan.
Today, the Solomon Islands are being fought over again – this time in the great power contest between the US and China for influence and geostrategic positioning.
The trigger was Beijing’s disclosure last Tuesday that it had signed a security pact with the Pacific Island nation.
The deal has alarmed the US and its allies, which are concerned that the Chinese could gain a military foothold in the South Pacific – a region that Australia and New Zealand have long seen as their “backyard”.
It has raised the possibility of China establishing a naval base in the Solomons, which would allow the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy to project power far into the Pacific, disrupting the US Navy’s ability to operate unchallenged.
The deal was concerning enough that Washington dispatched Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell to make a tour of the South Pacific last week, including to the Solomons, in what was likely a last-ditch attempt to dissuade Honiara from signing the agreement.
It was in vain – Beijing announced that the deal was signed a day after Washington confirmed Mr Campbell’s trip.
The text of the agreement has not been made public, but a draft leaked on social media late last month states that China would be allowed to send “police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces” at Honiara’s request to “assist in maintaining social order”.
Chinese ships would also be able to stop in the Solomons for “logistical replenishment”.
Singapore-based strategic consultant Alexander Neill said the latest developments were driven by the PLA Navy’s ambitions to be a blue-water force, and showed that China had chosen the Solomon Islands as its “bolthole in the South Pacific”.
The security deal also shows how Beijing’s increasing engagement of the Pacific region is bearing fruit, but it has also brought to the forefront the emerging tug of war between the US and China in the region.
That campaign was the first major land offensive by the United States against the Japanese, and marked a turning point for the Allies, as they sought to wrest back the Pacific Islands from Japan.
Today, the Solomon Islands are being fought over again – this time in the great power contest between the US and China for influence and geostrategic positioning.
The trigger was Beijing’s disclosure last Tuesday that it had signed a security pact with the Pacific Island nation.
The deal has alarmed the US and its allies, which are concerned that the Chinese could gain a military foothold in the South Pacific – a region that Australia and New Zealand have long seen as their “backyard”.
It has raised the possibility of China establishing a naval base in the Solomons, which would allow the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy to project power far into the Pacific, disrupting the US Navy’s ability to operate unchallenged.
The deal was concerning enough that Washington dispatched Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell to make a tour of the South Pacific last week, including to the Solomons, in what was likely a last-ditch attempt to dissuade Honiara from signing the agreement.
It was in vain – Beijing announced that the deal was signed a day after Washington confirmed Mr Campbell’s trip.
The text of the agreement has not been made public, but a draft leaked on social media late last month states that China would be allowed to send “police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces” at Honiara’s request to “assist in maintaining social order”.
Chinese ships would also be able to stop in the Solomons for “logistical replenishment”.
Singapore-based strategic consultant Alexander Neill said the latest developments were driven by the PLA Navy’s ambitions to be a blue-water force, and showed that China had chosen the Solomon Islands as its “bolthole in the South Pacific”.
The security deal also shows how Beijing’s increasing engagement of the Pacific region is bearing fruit, but it has also brought to the forefront the emerging tug of war between the US and China in the region.
