China–Solomon Islands Relations

The Solomon Islands and China (PRC) established official diplomatic relations in 2019. Prior to this, the Solomon Islands had diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The current ambassador of China to the Solomon Islands is . The ambassador of the Solomon Islands to China is John Moffat Fugui.

History

The Solomon Islands became an independent country from the United Kingdom in 1978. Five years later, in 1983, the Solomon Islands established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) which it maintained until 2019 when Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare severed the 36-year relationship with the Taiwanese government and began official recognition and diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Guardian and national newspaper Solomon Star reported that Solomon Islands MPs had claimed both China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC) had offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to them, to influence the politics to their favour. A series of demonstrations and violent riots followed the government's decision leading to a 36-hour lockdown in the capital, a number of buildings burnt down, and the deployment of police. Deakin University Professor Matthew Clarke deemed the switch an important step for China's One Belt One Road goals.

Contemporary relations

Lease of Tulagi

In September 2019, Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Sam Enterprise Group secretly signed a lease agreement with the Tulagi provincial government for exclusive rights to the entire island. A shock to residents of the islands, leaked details of the agreement revealed provisions for a fishery base, operations center, an airport, and an oil and gas terminal. A month later, the attorney general of the Solomon Islands overturned the deal for trespassing on national government powers, the failure of China Sam to register as a foreign investor, and lacked vital details to include a timeline.

Security pact

In March 2022, China and the Solomon Islands signed a draft security pact that, according to leaked photos, allows Honiara to ask Beijing to send in law enforcement and military personnel to the Solomon Islands to assist in "maintaining social order" or "protecting people's lives and property". The deal also permits Chinese ships to conduct replenish and stopover in the Solomon Islands and use the "relevant forces of China" to "protect the safety of Chinese personnel and other major projects in the Solomon Islands."

The government of the Solomon Islands announced the agreement was part of an effort to "respond to Solomon Islands' soft and hard domestic threats" as part of the nation's national security strategy, referring to the violent 2021 Solomon Islands unrest over the Prime Minister's decision to switch recognition from the ROC to the PRC. The Australian government, being both a neighbour of the Solomon Islands and a strategic rival to China, voiced great concern over this development. Particularly, Australia and some of its allies were concerned that this might be the start of permanent Chinese military bases being placed near Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the pact was "a reminder of the constant pressure and threats that present in our region to our own national security."

Visit by Wang Yi

In May 2022, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Solomon Islands as his first stop of a ten-nation tour in the Pacific. With only select media allowed to cover the event, the Media Association of Solomon Islands boycotted in protest. Yi's visit, part of an effort to sign a sweeping security and economic agreement with each of the small Pacific nations, was described by Solomon Islands Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jermiah Manele as a "milestone in the relations" between the Solomon Islands and PRC.

Deal with Huawei

In August 2022, the government of the Solomon Islands accepted a $66 million ( USD) loan from the People's Republic of China to have Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei construct 161 mobile towers in the Solomon Islands, celebrated as "a historic financial partnership." Previously, in 2018, the Solomon Islands awarded Huawei a contract to build an underwater telecommunications cable network prompting the Australian government to intervene. The government of the Solomon Islands claimed it hoped to repay the loan within 11 years, however this loan and the Chinese issued Tina Hydro Project loan raised the Solomon Islands national debt from 15% of GDP to 30%. A 2019 Central Bank of the Solomon Islands report prior to the loan warned that the country didn't have the capacity to take further loans from the PRC. In October, Opposition leader Matthew Wale urged the government to scrap the loans and claimed that they were paying for technology that will be obsolete far before the government pays off the loan. Wales also asked the government to publish a report by consulting firm KPMG which highlights Huawei's entitlement to 50% of revenue over ten years.

Other Activity

Also in August of 2022, the Solomon Islands turned away a U.S. Coast Guard ship and British Royal Navy ship claiming to have placed a moratorium on all foreign military ships pending further review, raising fears the Solomon Islands was turning away from western nations in favor of China.

See also

* Foreign relations of China
* Foreign relations of the Solomon Islands
* Solomon Islands–Taiwan relations
* Sino-Pacific relations

References

{{Foreign relations of Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands
Bilateral relations of the Solomon Islands