14 February 2022
Media reports outside the Solomon Islands are suggesting that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed the United States plans to open an embassy in the Solomon Islands.
The announcement on Saturday came as Mr. Blinken visited Fiji for talks with Pacific Islands leaders, with Washington promising more diplomatic and security resources to the region.
In a notification to Congress, the State Department said Solomon Islanders cherished their history with Americans on the battlefields of World War II, but that the US was in danger of losing its preferential ties.
The move comes after rioting rocked the nation of 700,000 in November. The riots grew from a peaceful protest and highlighted long-simmering regional rivalries, economic problems and concerns. Rioters set fire to buildings and looted stores.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare survived a no-confidence vote the following month, telling legislators in a fiery 90-minute speech that he had done nothing wrong and would not bow down to “the forces of evil”
The US previously operated an embassy in the Solomons for five years before closing it in 1993. Since then, US diplomats from neighbouring Papua New Guinea have been accredited to the Solomons, which has a US consular agency.
The embassy announcement fits with a new Biden administration strategy for the Indo-Pacific that was announced on Friday and emphasises building partnerships with allies in the region
“The United States has a strategic interest in enhancing our political, economic, and commercial relationship with Solomon Islands, the largest Pacific Island nation without a US embassy,” the State Department wrote.
The State Department said it did not expect to build a new embassy immediately but would at first lease space at an initial set-up cost of $12.4m. The embassy would be located in the capital, Honiara, and would start small, with two US employees and about five local staff.
The State Department said the Peace Corps was planning to reopen an office in the Solomon Islands and have its volunteers serve there, and that several US agencies were establishing government positions with portfolios in the Solomons.
“The Department needs to be part of this increased US presence, rather than remaining a remote player,” it wrote.
Mr.Blinken arrived in Fiji on Saturday after visiting the Australian city of Melbourne where he had a meeting with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan.
The four nations form the so-called “Quad”, a bloc of Indo-Pacific democracies.
In Fiji, Mr.Blinken plans to meet Pacific Islands leaders to discuss the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and disaster assistance. It was the first visit by a US secretary of state to Fiji since 1985.
Sources: News agencies / Al Jazeera and Solomon Times Online.
In separate but related news today, the Member of Parliament for East Are’are and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of Parliament, Hon. Peter Kenilorea Jr, has welcomed plans by the US to re-open its embassy in Solomon Islands.
The revelation came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Fiji on Saturday midway through a Pacific tour that began in Australia and finishes in Hawaii.
The State Department said Solomon Islanders cherished their history with Americans on the battlefields of World War II, but the US was in danger of losing its preferential ties.
Mr. Kenilorea says he joins the Solomon Islands Government to thank US Secretary of State Blinken for announcing the government of USA’s intention to re-opening a US Embassy in Honiara.
“In early 2019 I had the honour to discuss closer cooperation and reopening a US Embassy in Honiara. I had the privilege of meeting with Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy and sharing my views on Solomon Islands/US relations at that time in Nadi, Fiji,” Kenilorea said.
“Our relations with our traditional partner and friend, USA, will only be further strengthened with their embassy re-established on Solomon Islands soil.”
The US previously operated an embassy in the Solomons for five years before closing it in 1993.
There are currently only six US embassies in the Pacific.
Sources - ABC, The Interpreter and Solomon Times Online.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
