Eyeing China, US reopens Solomon embassy

China set its foot in Solomon Islands after signing a secret security pact with it last year. This irked the US the most and forced it to expand its base in the Indo-Pacific.

New Delhi, Feb 3: Not everything is fine between China and the US, especially as the earlier keeps threatening Taiwan and creating a confrontational situation in the South China Sea. To balance things out, the US government has re-established its diplomatic outpost in Solomon Islands. The move will meet more than one goal, the most important of which is it can keep an eye on China in the Indo-Pacific.

Talking about the development and the re-opening of the diplomatic outpost, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that it is a renewal of American commitment to the people of Solomon Islands. He also added that with the partnership, the US has shown that the Indo-Pacific region is quite vital for a lot of reasons.

End of a 30-year hiatus

It has been more than three decades since the diplomatic outpost was abandoned by the American establishment. Those were the days when the US and China were having great relations. In fact, it was helping China build its factories and up its production to become an 'American Factory'. There was hardly any requirement for any such outpost in Solomon.

Needless to say, what followed after that is the Chinese growth and emergence as the second largest economy which has threatened American interests itself. Now, the US is worried about the fact that China is spreading its influence not just in Asia but most of the world as well. From the South China Sea to Africa, China has started a massive mission to gain hegemony.

Now with the re-opening of the embassy in the Solomon Islands, the US has shown that the small island is still important. After 30 years, the US has realized that to keep a tab on the Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, an embassy in Solomon would be the best strategy.

Countering Chinese engagement in Solomon

In the multipolar world, each country is trying its best to bring smaller nations under their influence. Keeping its geopolitical interests in mind China too has tried to build relations with Solomon. Earlier last year, Solomon signed a secret security pact with China. With the agreement, China has set its foot on Solomon land. And this has irked the US the most.

Last but not the least, now Solomon has come into the US government's eye and a visit from Blinken is an indication that the small nation holds great importance for the Americans. Very aptly, Blinken admitted that America is placing diplomatic personnel throughout the region and engaging further with its Pacific neighbours.