Solicitude for Solomon Islands belied by years of indifference: China Daily editorial

The Solomon Islands, a long-neglected island country of 800,000 residents, was considered by the United States to be so out of the way and insignificant that it closed its embassy there in 1993.

It was not until the Solomon Islands shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing that the island appeared on the US' political radar again.

And the country suddenly became the focus of attention for the US and its regional allies after reports appeared that the former British protectorate was working on a security deal with China.

Despite urgings from the United States and its allies in the region that the Solomon Islands not proceed with the deal, the security pact has been signed, to the perturbation of the alarmists in Washington, Canberra and elsewhere.

The Australian minister for international development and the Pacific visited the Solomon capital last week, citing concern about a lack of transparency and the pact's potential to "undermine stability" in the region. He called on the country to abandon the deal.

Even though both Chinese and Solomon authorities have confirmed the document's signing, Washington seems determined to proceed with what it deems to be crucially important eye-opening. Later this week, Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator, and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, will lead a delegation of US government officials to the Solomon Islands, and then Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Their goal is simple and singular — to prevent China from gaining a military foothold in the South Pacific — although there is nothing about that in the signed document.

" … the broad nature of the security agreement leaves open the door for the deployment of PRC military forces to the Solomon Islands," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. "We believe that signing such an agreement could increase destabilization within the Solomon Islands and will set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region". That explains the US delegation's planned itinerary. Now they want to assure those countries that they will "deliver prosperity, security, and peace across the Pacific Islands and the Indo-Pacific".

However, while the subject of the pact — security — may sound tricky in this sensitive geopolitical climate, there is actually little to worry about.

Both China and the Solomon Islands have denied the rumor about Chinese military deployment, clarifying that the deal is a bilateral agreement on security cooperation and normal collaboration between two independent, sovereign countries that targets no third parties.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has asked all of his nation's "neighbors, friends and partners to respect the sovereign interests of the Solomon Islands".

Rather than attempting to "reverse the course" of events, Washington may want to adopt a more considerate role in delivering what the Solomon Islands and other South Pacific islands need.