After China signed a security cooperation agreement with the Solomon Islands, the United States and other Western countries really couldn't sit still. On April 18, local time, the White House announced that Kurt Campbell, the indo-Pacific coordinator of the National Security Council, and other officials would lead a delegation to visit three Pacific island countries, including the Solomon Islands, this week. A State Department spokesman said concerns about China would be one of the main issues.
Reuters, Lianhe Zaobao and other foreign media commented that the trip was out of concern about the security agreement in China, and the US side strived to repeal the draft. The news also confirmed previous reports by the Financial Times. The newspaper previously analyzed that this was a rare high-level visit, highlighting Washington's "vigilance" against the security agreement reached in China.
This week, Campbell will lead a delegation of U.S. government officials to three Pacific island nations— Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands— along with Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific. The delegation, which will include representatives from the U.S. National Security Council, the State Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, "seeks to further deepen U.S. lasting ties with the region and promote a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific," the briefing said.
The briefing also announced the itinerary of the mission's visit:
In Hawaii, the mission will consult with senior military officials and regional partners of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
In Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, the delegation will meet with senior government officials "to ensure that our partnership brings prosperity, security and peace to the entire Pacific islands and the Indo-Pacific region" and meet with representatives of the Pacific Islands Forum to discuss "issues of vital importance to the pacific region as a whole."
The Pacific Islands Forum, which includes Australia, New Zealand and the three Pacific countries visited, was established to promote foreign policy coordination and regional cooperation in the political and security fields.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), US State Department spokesman Price revealed at a regular press conference on the same day that part of the purpose of the visit was to "share views, share benefits, and share concerns", and that concerns about China will be one of the topics of discussion with Officials in the Solomon Islands.
Price continues to discredit the Central Security Agreement, saying that while the Solomon Islands government has already interpreted the agreement, its "broad nature" "opens the door" for Chinese troops stationed there: "We believe that signing such an agreement could exacerbate instability within the Solomon Islands and set a worrying precedent for the wider Pacific Island region." ”
But he stressed that U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific is to ensure it understands the benefits of engaging with Washington, "and not in relation to China or any other country."
"Between what we offer, and what other countries — including quite a sizeable country in the region — might offer, we let them compare themselves." Price said.
The White House said the trip was based on Secretary of State Blinken's Visit to the region in February. In February, Blinken flew to Australia and Fiji to meet with the leaders and foreign ministers of many countries in the "Indo-Pacific region" in an attempt to win over these countries to "unite against China". It was also the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to Fiji since 1985.
The Financial Times previously quoted sources familiar with the matter as reporting that Campbell is launching an initiative called "Pacific Partners" to help Pacific island countries deal with so-called "Chinese influence".
In recent years, China's comprehensive strategic partnership with Pacific island countries has developed rapidly and steadily, and has been sincerely welcomed by the governments and people of the island countries. From the volcanic eruption in Tonga to the riots in the Solomon Islands, to the previous intensification of the epidemic in many island countries, there has been Chinese assistance.
On March 30 this year, a security cooperation framework agreement was initialed between China and The Two Sides, but it stirred the nerves of the United States, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The New Zealand prime minister claimed "serious concerns", the United States and Australia have also sent a number of officials to the Solomon Islands to lobby, and the Australian media also used the excuse of speculating about the so-called "leaked documents" during the Solomon Islands riots to provoke relations between China and the United States.
On April 6, two Australian intelligence officials quietly approached the door to discuss a security agreement with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare. Image credit: Solomon Islands Government website
The Financial Times noted that since the Solomon Islands "severed diplomatic relations" with Taiwan in 2019 and established diplomatic relations with Chinese mainland, the United States has become increasingly concerned about the Solomon Islands, while the Agreement has "exacerbated the concerns."
To this end, according to the Associated Press in February, since the closure of the Solomon Islands Embassy in 1993, after 29 years, the United States plans to reopen the Embassy in the Solomon Islands. The Financial Times also said Campbell's visit was "aimed at restoring engagement."
At the same time, the United States changed its long-term "neglect" of the region and began to actively "cooperate" with the Solomon Islands. The U.S. department officials said that the United States donated more than 52,000 doses of covid-19 vaccine to the Solomon Islands this week, which is another donation activity after donating 100,000 doses of vaccines to the country at the end of last year. The official also said the U.S. was also helping the Solomon Islands clear unexploded weapons from World War II, while the U.S. Coast Guard was dealing with illegal fishing.
However, the repeated pressure and "overtures" of the United States and Australia seem to have touched a soft nail, and the Solomon Islands have not shown any signs of "softening their position". The French side has repeatedly stressed that China is an important trading partner, and Solomon Islands is not prepared to abandon efforts to reach security agreements with more countries, will continue to implement the national security strategy, and adhere to the foreign policy of "all countries are friends rather than enemies".
On the 28th of last month, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare also said in parliament that the country "has no intention of getting involved in any geopolitical power struggle" and "has not been subject to any pressure from new friends". He criticized statements by australia and others against the security agreement, saying that the Solomon Islands were "labelled as unfit to administer the country's sovereign affairs or said to have other motives in pursuing national interests, which is very insulting".
Regarding the US behavior of co-opting allies and advocating the "Indo-Pacific strategy", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian previously said that China has always believed that any regional cooperation mechanism should not target third parties or harm the interests of third parties, and that the small circle of closed exclusion and targeting other countries runs counter to the trend of the times, runs counter to the wishes of regional countries, is unpopular, and is doomed to fail.
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