China Welcomes Diplomatic Ties with the Solomon Islands
he Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the establishment of diplomatic ties with the Solomon Islands.
The Pacific Island country voted on Monday to sever ties with Taiwan by recognising the one-China policy of One Country Two Systems. Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying told the Fiji Sun on Tuesday that the government was “very happy” about the decision.
Ms Hua said countries in Asia and the Pacific share strong ties and were considered family.
She also briefly spoke about her visit to Fiji last year. “We welcome the Solomon Islands’ step in making a historically right choice and look forward to the country joining co-operation projects between China and other Pacific island countries on the basis of the one-China principle in the near future,” Ms Hua said. She dismissed remarks made that China was practising “Dollar Diplomacy” and added that principle and trust cannot be bought with money. She mentioned that talks between the two governments would be facilitated in due course and that China was happy to aid development opportunities for the Solomon Islands.
“On the basis of the one-China principle, China has established official diplomatic relationships with 178 countries around the world,” she said. “The decision of the Solomon Islands’ government to recognise the one-China principle and establish diplomatic ties with China again fully testifies to the fact that the one-China principle meets the shared aspiration of the people and constitutes an irresistible trend of the times.”
Since 2016, six countries have severed “diplomatic” ties with Taiwan and these have included Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe, Panama, and El Salvador.
With the recent exclusion of the Solomon Islands as its biggest Pacific ally, Taiwan now has only 16 “allies”.