US officials heading to Solomons over China pact worries

China said Tuesday it has sealed a wide-ranging security pact with the Solomon Islands, an agreement the US and its regional allies fear could give Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific

The US on Monday warned that a security pact between the Solomon Islands and China could destabilise the islands, and set a “concerning precedent” for the wider Pacific Island region, announcing a visit by senior officials, including the National Security Council (NSC) Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, to the Pacific islands.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (left) and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare review an honour guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. (AP/ FILE)

In an announcement on Monday, the White House said Campbell and the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Kritenbrink, would lead a US delegation to Fiji, Papua New Guine and Solomon Islands. The inter-agency delegation would seek to “further deepen ties” with the region and advance a “free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific”.

At a press briefing hours later, the state department spokesperson Ned Price said that the US understands that Solomon Islands and China were “discussing a broad security-related agreement” that built on a recently signed pact on police cooperation.

“Despite the Solomon Islands government’s comments, the broad nature of the security agreement leaves open the door for the deployment of PRC (People’s Republic of China) military forces to the Solomon Islands,” he said.

The US was in touch with its allies in the region, Australia and New Zealand, who had communicated their concerns about how Solomon Islands’ move could affect the regional security paradigm, Price said.

“Part of the task of the upcoming visit will be to share perspectives, to share interests, to share concerns, and I do expect the full range of all of those will be on the docket,” he said.

Earlier this year, the US had announced its intent to re-establish its embassy in the Solomon Islands. Secretary of state Antony Blinken visited the region in February. Price said that at the end of the day, US policy was not about China but the partnership that the US could bring.

“And part of our engagement, including in this upcoming context, is to ensure that our partners in the Indo-Pacific and around the world understand what the US brings to the table. And we will leave it to them to contrast what we offer from what other countries, including rather larger countries in the region, might offer,” he said.