Washington is moving ahead with plans to reopen the US embassy in the Solomon Islands, in a bid to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific region. The US Department of State has informed the US Congress that it plans to establish an interim embassy in the Solomons’ capital of Honiara, on the site of a former US consular property.
It said the modest embassy would at first be staffed by two US diplomats, and five local employees at a cost of US$1.8 million per year.
A more permanent facility with larger staffing is eventually envisioned, it said. The department, in February last year, notified lawmakers that China’s growing influence in the region made reopening the US embassy in the Solomon Islands a priority.
Since then, the Solomon Islands has signed a security pact with China, and the US has countered by sending several high-level delegations to the Pacific nation.
The US closed its embassy in Honiara in 1993, as part of a post-Cold War global reduction in diplomatic posts and priorities.
However, it has since determined that China’s rise as a regional and global power demands attention as part of the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy to counter Beijing—particularly
in the Solomon Islands, which were a key battleground in the Pacific theater during World War II, and where pro-US sentiment has been high.
