US plans to reopen Solomon Islands embassy
Nadi, 12: The United States will re-establish an embassy in the Solomon Islands, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday, in an effort to counter China’s influence in the politically troubled Pacific island.
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 an attempt to curb Beijing’s push for greater influence.
The United States closed its embassy in the Solomons Island capital Honiara in 1993 and is now represented by a consulate there, directed from the US embassy in Papua New Guinea.
The move comes just a few months after riots in the island chain of 8,00,000 people in November when protesters tried to storm parliament and then went on a three-day rampage, torching much 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 said they were particularly concerned about China’s growing influence in the Solomons.
Beijing said in December it would send police advisors and riot gear to the country as foreign peacekeepers began leaving the Pacific nation after being deployed during the deadly protests.
A subplot to November's unrest was Sogavare's efforts to forge closer ties with Beijing after abruptly breaking off the island’s long-time ties with Taiwan in 2019.
China baulks at any official exchanges between other countries and selfruled Taiwan, which it sees as its own territory awaiting reunification.
The Solomons government said in December it had accepted Beijing's offer of six “liaison officers” to train its police force and equipment including shields, helmets, batons and other “nonlethal” gear.
The decision on the embassy was revealed on Blinken's visit to Fiji, the first US Secretary of State to arrive on the island in 37 years. —