HONIARA: US and Chinese diplomats fought for the affections of the Solomon Islands on Friday after the small island state shocked its Western allies by signing a defence pact with Beijing.

The United States and Australia — the Pacific nation’s traditional allies — are deeply suspicious of the deal, fearing it may give China a military foothold in the South Pacific.

A White House delegation landed at the airport in the capital Honiara and was ferried into town in a white minibus ahead of planned meetings with the government.

On the same day, China’s ambassador to the Solomon Islands was not far away, attending a ceremony with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to hand over an elite, blue-coloured running track.

It is part of a China-funded national stadium complex, reportedly worth $53 million, that will host the 2023 Pacific Games for the first time in the history of the Solomons, where many of the 800,000 citizens live in poverty.

“On behalf of the Chinese government and people of China, we congratulate the government of the Solomon Islands,” said Chinese ambassador Li Ming, as he delivered the latest investment lavished by Beijing on a Pacific nation.

Beijing announced this week it had signed the undisclosed security pact with Honiara.

A draft of the pact shocked countries in the region when it was leaked last month, particularly measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomons, which are located less than 2,000 kilometres from Australia.

‘Lack of transparency’

Too late to stop the security deal with China, the White House said its diplomatic delegation was visiting Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands this week to “ensure our partnerships deliver prosperity, security and peace across the Pacific Islands and the Indo-Pacific”.

The US diplomatic team — led by the National Security Council’s Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Daniel Kritenbrink — landed in Honiara just three days after the security pact with China was announced.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2022