Solomon Islands has suspended visits from all foreign navies, citing a need to review approval processes, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said yesterday, after a US Coast Guard ship was unable to refuel at its port.
The decision comes amid concerns over the Solomons’ growing ties with China in recent years, switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019 and signing a security pact with the Asian power in April.
Western governments are wary that the islands could provide China with a military foothold in a strategically important part of the world.
Photo: AFP
In a speech yesterday welcoming a US hospital ship to the capital, Honiara, Sogavare said he was reviewing the process for allowing foreign military vessels to dock in the country.
“We have requested our partners to give us time to review and put in place our new processes before sending further requests for military vessels to enter the country,” Sogavare said.
He also denied reports that a US coast guard ship and a British navy vessel were not allowed to dock in the country, saying delays in processing their approvals meant both were turned away.
The US embassy in Canberra confirmed in a statement that it had received formal notification of the suspension of naval visits.
“The United States received formal notification from the Government of Solomon Islands regarding a moratorium on all naval visits, pending updates in protocol procedures,” an embassy spokeswoman said in a statement.
“The United States is disappointed that the US Coast Guard ship was not able to make this planned stop in Honiara,” the statement said.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation,” it said.
Sogavare did not outline the suspension’s length, but promised a “smoother and timelier” approval process for naval visits following the review.
At the welcome ceremony for the US hospital ship Mercy he invited the vessel to return during the Pacific Games, due to be hosted in the country in December next year.
The US embassy said the Mercy — on a humanitarian mission to the country — had received clearance to dock before the moratorium was put in place.
Sogavare has deepened his South Pacific nation’s ties with China’s autocratic government and proposed changing the constitution to delay scheduled elections.
The four-time leader has twice been ousted by votes of no confidence, and faced street protests against his decision to switch diplomatic recognition.
After widespread rioting in Honiara demanding his ouster late last year, Sogavare signed a secretive security pact with Beijing that — according to a leaked draft — allows him to call in Chinese security forces to quell further unrest.
That has raised concerns in Canberra and Washington about the prospect of a Chinese military base being established or allowing China to develop dual-use facilities.
Sogavare has several times denied a foreign base would ever be built in his country.
Australia’s foreign affairs department has been contacted for comment.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS