The Solomon Islands, an island nation in the South Pacific, has a new leader, Prime Minister Matthew Wale, who has announced plans to review the security pact it signed with China in 2022.
This marks a shift away from the previous Jeremiah Manele administration’s course. The move begins to unwind the country’s tilt toward China, and it is a welcome one.
The security pact itself has never been made public, but according to European media outlets that obtained the document, it reportedly allowed China to deploy military and police personnel to the Solomon Islands.
The previous government is also said to have permitted Chinese police to collect household data and biometric information from residents—a set of provisions unusual enough to potentially compromise the country’s sovereignty.
The Solomon Islands severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019 and established relations with China. Beijing has since laid the groundwork to bring the islands under its influence, offering substantial economic assistance in exchange.
Wale says he only became fully aware of the contents of the pact, signed three years after the switch in diplomatic recognition, when he took office as prime minister this past May. The prime minister also said he does not plan to disclose the agreement’s contents in line with its terms.
Australia’s Welcome, Wariness Elsewhere
Australia has welcomed the announcement that the pact will be reviewed. As the major democratic power in the neighborhood, Canberra has long harbored strong concerns that the Solomon Islands could become a foothold for China in the Pacific.
At a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June, Wale acknowledged that relations with Australia had had problems over the past several years under the previous administration’s China-leaning stance, and signaled his intent to strengthen ties.
That same month, Australia signed a security and economic cooperation agreement with neighboring Vanuatu.
Washington and Tokyo Have Roles to Play
The United States is closely watching Wale’s approach, given that the waters around the Solomon Islands form a strategic corridor linking Australia and the US. Washington opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands in 2023.
In late June, Japan signed a grant agreement to bring Solomon Islands government officials to Japan for training. The Maritime Self-Defense Force has also conducted joint exercises with the Solomon Islands’ maritime police, part of a broader effort to strengthen cooperation toward realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
Close collaboration among Japan, Australia, the United States, and other partners may help prevent the Solomon Islands from drifting back into China’s orbit.
RELATED:
New US Embassy in Solomon Islands a Democratic Pushback to China
(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: The Sankei Shimbun
