ISSUE BRIEF
Engaging the Pacific Islands Is No Longer About the Why, but About the How OCTOBER 2022 MARIE JOURDAIN AND CHARLES LICHFIELD
T
he South Pacific is the hottest new destination for high-level Western delegations. They aren’t coming to take in the scenery, idyllic though it may be.
In April 2022, the Solomon Islands and China signed a secret security agreement that raised great concerns within the region and as far as Europe and the United States. One of the clauses in a leaked draft 1 allowed Chinese ships to carry out logistical stopovers while authorizing Chinese armed forces to be deployed to “protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects.” A Chinese naval base close to Guam was rapidly becoming plausible.
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Under great pressure, Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare had to clarify his intents in July, stating that the Solomon Islands will not allow any military base on its territory and that Australia remained the “partner of choice.” But in late August 2022, a US Coast Guard ship and a United Kingdom Royal Navy ship (conducting patrols to prevent illegal fishing) were denied a routine port call to refuel on the Solomon Islands. Prime Minister Sogavare denied it was a move against the United States and announced a moratorium on all foreign navy vessels—except for Australia’s, New Zealand’s, and Fiji’s military vessels—until they update their approval processes. Twenty twenty-two has already been marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese revision of the de facto sea border between China and Taiwan. In this context, the Pacific Islands are acknowledged as truly strategic. Their votes at the United Nations (UN) are precious: All 13 voted to condemn Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Not all had sided with Kyiv following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Four of the islands still recognize Taiwan, though Kiribati and the Solomon Islands ended their official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019. Their geographic position is also strategic if a conflict were to break out in the Taiwan Strait.
1
Anna Powles (@AnnaPowles), “The Draft Security Cooperation Agreement between China and Solomon Islands Has Been Linked on Social Media and Raises a Lot of Questions (and Concerns),” Twitter, March 24, 2022, https://twitter.com/annapowles/status/1506845794728837120.