US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has spoken with Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeremiah Manele on plans for an US embassy in the Pacific country after news of a draft security pact with China emerged in the past few weeks.
The two officials also talked about “joint efforts to broaden and deepen engagement between our countries in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in February said that the US planned to open an embassy in Honiara, the island nation’s capital, to counter China’s influence.
Photo: AP
The US has a consulate there.
The US joins Australia in reaching out to the country in the past week, as a new diplomatic push sparked by a proposed deal between China and the Solomon Islands that would allow the deployment of Chinese military in the event of domestic disturbance. The draft agreement would also allow China a safe harbor for its warships in the Solomon Islands, just 2,000km from the Australian coast.
Australian Broadcasting Corp on Tuesday reported that Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja would make a rare mid-election campaign trip to the Solomon Islands to meet with the country’s leadership.
The Solomon Islands in 2019 officially broke its ties with Taiwan, which last year culminated in violent anti-China protests, and Beijing sending riot gear and police advisers to the country.
A prominent lawmaker in the Solomon Islands said he warned the Australian government that a security deal was in the works between his country’s government and China, and Canberra “did nothing about it.”
In a call between Sherman and Australian Secretary of the Department of Human Services Kathryn Campbell, the US diplomat “highlighted her concern about recent developments in the Indo-Pacific, and discussed opportunities to continue collaborating with partners and allies to advance peace and stability in the region.”
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