https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18384/china-takes-over-solomon-islands
China, after years of persistent commercial, diplomatic, and military efforts, is taking over the Pacific.
Beijing is moving from island group to island group, and soon the People’s Liberation Army will be in striking distance of Hawaii.
The five-year deal, subject to automatic renewals, will allow Beijing to use the islands to base its military and to do pretty much what the Chinese military wants.
If implemented to its full extent, the Framework Agreement will give China the ability to sever shipping lanes and air links connecting the U.S. with its treaty ally Australia and partner New Zealand.
For decades, Washington allowed Canberra and Wellington to manage the Solomons and its region…. Beijing, through payoffs now detailed in public, essentially owns Sogavare’s government.
There is now talk that China will ink a security agreement with Papua New Guinea, just north of Australia.
Moreover, China wants to upgrade an airstrip in Kiribati. Beijing says the improvements are for civilian purposes only, yet the military uses are apparent and no one believes the Chinese assurances.
The facility is just 1,900 miles south of Hawaii. In Pacific terms, Kiribati is America’s next-door neighbor.
On March 25, the Solomon Islands announced it was “expanding” security arrangements, “diversifying the country’s security partnership including with China.”
