A top US diplomat yesterday warned Pacific Islands of a new struggle against violent power-hungry regimes, as she visited the Solomon Islands to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.
With China’s military conducting drills around Taiwan and Russia bombarding Ukraine, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman hit out at a new crop of world leaders reviving “bankrupt” ideas about the use of force — without mentioning any countries.
Attending a memorial service at dawn, Sherman said “some around the world” had forgotten the cost of war, or were ignoring the lessons of the past.
Photo: AFP / Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade / Dion Isaacson
She hit out at “leaders who believe that coercion, pressure and violence are tools to be used with impunity,” but did not specify any names during her speech.
The Battle of Guadalcanal was a turning point in World War II. The brutal seven-month land, sea and air fight between Allied and Japanese forces killed tens of thousands of troops, mostly Japanese.
Painting today’s situation as carrying faint echoes of the fight against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in the 1930-1940s, the US Department of State No. 2 urged the region to push back.
“We remember how bankrupt, how empty, such views were then, and remain today,” she said. “Today we are once again engaged in a different kind of struggle — a struggle that will go on for some time to come.”
Sherman’s trip comes as the US is trying to rebuild diplomatic relations in the Pacific, where China is growing stronger and democratic alliances have faltered.
Nowhere is the US’ waning regional influence more evident than in the Solomon Islands. The government of Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has recently signed a security pact with Beijing, moved to curb press freedoms and suggested delaying elections.
Sherman, again without mentioning names, told her hosts: “It is up to us to decide if we want to continue having societies where people are free to speak their minds.”
It is time to decide “if we want to have governments that are transparent and accountable to their people,” Sherman said.
Sogavare was slated to attend the ceremony, appearing on the event program, but was a no-show.
However, he did meet Sherman later, for what she described as “wide-ranging” talks.
As well as warnings, Sherman said Washington wants to increase cooperation with the “absolutely critical” Pacific island nations, including by opening embassies in Tonga, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.
US President Joe Biden is also expected to invite Pacific Island leaders to the White House for a summit next month.
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