Category: the Solomon Islands

Despite Slowing Economy, Beijing Continues Pumping Aid Into the Solomons, Kiribati

Beijing is pumping more money into new developments in the Solomon Islands and Kiribati as “COVID-Zero” policies pummel the Chinese economy. While Chinese aid flows to the overall Pacific region declined from 2016 to 2021, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has upped its investment in the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, which switched allegiances from Taiwan…


Nearly Half of Australians Support Sending Troops to Defend Taiwan: Poll

A new poll shows that almost one in two Australians support Australia sending troops to help defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by Beijing. This is a much higher percentage of the population than in Japan and the United States, where about one in three respondents supported sending local troops, according to an…


Solomon Islands Joins 13 Pacific Nations in Partnership Declaration With United States

The Solomon Islands has joined 13 other Pacific nations in signing an 11-point partnership declaration with the United States, despite initially refusing and requesting more time to review it. A total of 15 nations and regions, including the United States, signed the partnership declaration on the final day of their first-ever summit in Washington, according…


US Loses Key Foothold in the Pacific as China Gains Control of Solomon Islands

News Analysis The Solomon Islands, a strategic Pacific nation, is slipping deeper into communist China’s orbit. On Aug. 29, the government of the Solomon Islands notified U.S. officials that they had suspended visits by U.S. and other foreign military vessels. The news came after both a U.S. Coast Guard ship and a British Royal Naval…


China Is Australia’s ‘Biggest Security Anxiety’: Australian Deputy Prime Minister

Richard Marles, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister has said China is Australia’s “biggest security anxiety” as Beijing expands its influence among the Pacific island nations. Marles warned that China would “maintain an interest” in the Pacific, even though Beijing was forced to shelve a sweeping security and economic deal with 10 nations in the…


US to ‘Respond Accordingly’ If Solomon Islands-China Pact Permits Military Base

The United States has warned the Solomon Islands’ leadership that it would “respond accordingly” if a military installation on the Pacific Islands nation is allowed under the terms of the Solomon Islands-China security pact. The White House stated Friday that a high-level U.S. delegation has met with the Solomon Islands’ leadership in Honiara and raised…


China Coopts US Allies in the Pacific: Solomon Islands Now, Micronesia Next

News Analysis The Chinese regime has co-opted the Solomon Islands and is now set on removing the Federated States of Micronesia from its Compact of Free Association with the United States. On March 25, the Solomon Islands confirmed that it was drafting a security deal with China. With this single contract, the United States loses…


China’s Police Aid to Solomon Islands Attempts to Undermine US Dominance In the Pacific

New Analysis The recent anti-CCP (Chinese Communist Party) unrest in the Solomon Islands has prompted the Chinese regime to send police aid to the Pacific Islands nation. Beijing’s move attempts to undermine the United States as the dominant power in the Pacific, according to analysts. On Dec. 23, Beijing confirmed that it would send a…


Pacific Islands: Battleground for US-China Interests

News Analysis The rivalry between the United States and China, particularly over Taiwan, plays out in the Pacific Islands, where countries are forced to choose their alliances. The Solomon Islands is an archipelago nation, in the South Pacific Ocean with a population of 650,000. Violence erupted in the capital of Honiara last month, as protesters…


US and the Solomon Islands: If You’re Not There, You’re Not Interested

Commentary Last week, anti-government demonstrators in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, demanded the prime minister to step down—citing his and the government’s corruption and ties to communist China. After the police fired tear gas at the up until then peaceful demonstrators, chaos erupted. An outbuilding at the parliament caught fire, a police station…