US officials heading to Solomons over China pact worries
- raquelcamila999
- Apr 20, 2022
- 1 min read
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.
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”.
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