Solomons isolated in the Pacific

It is yet to be ascertained whether Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare remains the solitary standout or joins leaders of 11 other Pacific Islands states in signing a co-operation declaration with the US after two days of high-level talks in Washington. But whether he does or not does nothing to detract from the significance of the Pacific leaders’ visit and the way Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet to welcome them to the White House. As a sign of US determination to confront growing Chinese influence, the Biden administration’s “first-of-its-kind” summit with Pacific Islands leaders could not have been more significant. Legitimate criticism can be made of successive US administrations, Democrat and Republican, for neglecting the steady advance of Chinese ascendancy, notably in Solomon Islands, which in April concluded a security pact with Beijing that has far-reaching strategic implications for the entire region, including Australia.

The price of that neglect is already alarming. But the unprecedented Washington summit at which even tiny nations such as Tonga, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands were wooed by Mr Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other government and business leaders should make up lost ground and do much to buttress Australia’s efforts to ensure the Pacific states do not fall further for Beijing’s dodgy debt-trap diplomacy.

The summit followed Washington’s unveiling of its first Pacific Islands strategy aimed at meeting what the Pacific leaders indicated were their priority concerns: climate change, recovery from the pandemic, illegal fishing and investment in technology. Addressing the leaders, Mr Blinken said there had been agreement on “a declaration of partnership between the US and the Pacific states” that bound them together in a “shared vision for the future and determination to build that future together”. US officials said the partnership declaration would reveal “big dollar numbers”, with the White House working with private enterprise to roll out plans for key initiatives such as new undersea communications resources across the region as a response to “China’s diplomacy and military expansion”. Washington announced previously that it was expanding its diplomatic missions in the South Pacific states from six to nine, including an embassy in Honiara, and the creation of the post of ambassador to regional grouping the Pacific Islands Forum, based in Fiji, as well as the re-establishment of a US Agency for International Development office in Suva.

As White House Indo-Pacific Co-ordinator Kurt Campbell said, the US moves are “recognition that in the past we have perhaps paid lesser attention to these critical places than we should have”. He is right, and the 11 Pacific states that have joined in signing the joint declaration have been wise to work with Washington on challenges that can be only of immense benefit to them and their people. It will be a pity if, in his zeal to please his Chinese patrons, Mr Sogavare isolates himself from the other Pacific leaders and refuses to join in signing the declaration. He should learn from Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal report that showed even China has been forced into overhauling its deeply troubled Belt and Road “debt-trap diplomacy” initiative amid mounting evidence of the way it is creating catastrophic debt crises in developing nations such as Zambia and Sri Lanka. Mr Sogavare is being naive if he thinks Chinese involvement in Solomon Islands will be any different.

As a counter to China’s self-serving involvement in the Pacific states, the Washington summit could hardly be more important. It adds significantly to the momentum generated recently by Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Having laid the groundwork with Pacific leaders in the White House, Mr Biden must lose no time in putting into effect his administration’s determination to outwit and outflank Beijing’s nefarious strategic aims in the Pacific Islands states.