The strategic frontline was on full display in Solomon Islands this week. There was official confirmation that the government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has signed a security agreement with China that opens the door for basing and, not entirely uncoincidentally, the highest-level US delegation to visit Solomon Islands in decades has just passed through.
In this edition of “Indo-Pacific: Behind the Headlines" we speak with the highly respected Solomon Islands leader, Hon. Peter Kenilorea Jr. about what this has meant for his country, and the Indo-Pacific.
Hon. Kenilorea is the son of the first Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands and was elected to the national parliament of the Solomon Islands in 2019. He is also the President of the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States Parliamentary Assembly and the Co-President of the ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly.
Q: What are you concerned about looking forward? A: The announcement that the timeline for the opening of the US embassy is going to be escalated is a really important step. Solomon Islanders are very much into feeling, seeing, touching and that sort of thing. Once it's there, it's real. It's important it happens quickly because, now that this [PRC security] agreement is signed, I think there will be a flurry of Chinese activity.
During our panel discussions, [former Prime Minister] Hon. Danny Philips pretty much admitted that the signed security agreement is not far off the draft that has been leaked. That agreement talks about protecting “Chinese interests”. I don't see any Chinese interests currently. The shops in Chinatown are really retail. And I don't really count them as Chinese interests and investment. So I'm thinking that is for the future.
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