Solomon Islands: New port deal allows Beijing to strengthen its influence in the region

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (our illustration photo) was instrumental in Solomon Islands' rapprochement with China after severing his country's diplomatic ties with Taiwan. © AFP/Archives

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A state-backed Chinese company has won a contract to develop a key port in the Solomon Islands, a major victory in Beijing's quest for strategic control in the South Pacific.

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On Tuesday, March 21, the Solomon Islands government announced that the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation has been selected to lead a US$170 million project to develop the capital's international port, Honiara. The Solomon Islands has become the unexpected epicenter of a diplomatic standoff between China and the United States, after signing a large, vaguely outlined security agreement with Beijing in 2022.

An agreement with blurred contours

China and the Solomon Islands have both denied that the pact would lead to the establishment of a permanent Chinese naval base, but details of the deal were never revealed. Major infrastructure projects in the South Pacific archipelago are increasingly dependent on Chinese investment, including the construction of a new stadium for this year's Pacific Games in Honiara.

The Chinese company had already won a $7 million contract in 2020 for the construction of a new terminal at Munda International Airport in the western province of Solomon Islands, according to government contract notices. The company was established by the Chinese government in the 1970s and has been instrumental in the "New Silk Road" project, a mammoth initiative to boost Beijing's influence in developing countries around the world.

Diplomatic ties with Taiwan severed

It holds contracts for infrastructure projects throughout Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific, according to the company's website. The Solomon Islands capital port contract was revealed on the same day that White House envoy Kurt Campbell visited Honiara, as part of Washington's latest moves to combat China's growing economic and diplomatic footprint. Campbell met with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who was instrumental in bringing Solomon Islands closer to China after severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

(

With AFP)

► READ ALSO: Solomon Islands: tensions with Canberra and Washington after the security agreement with Beijing (May 5, 2022

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Solomon Islands
  • China
  • Diplomacy
  • Trade and Commerce
  • Defense
  • United States