Solomon Islands blocks US, China, and Taiwan at key Pacific political meeting

(Patria) - Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Jeremiah Manele stated that 21 donor countries, including the United States and China, will not be invited to the most important political meeting in the region, a move that follows Beijing's pressure to exclude Taiwan, Reuters reported.

The Solomon Islands, the largest Chinese security ally in the Pacific Islands, will host the annual meeting of the eighteen-member bloc's forum in September.

Three island nations have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, not China, and have expressed concern that Taiwanese officials will be denied entry into the country.

The Solomon Islands changed its ties with Taiwan in 2019 and removed it from the list of eligible countries.

Beijing, which has deepened its ties in the Pacific, claims Taiwan as its territory.

Manele told the Solomon Islands parliament on Wednesday that his cabinet had decided that no dialogue partners would be invited to this year's event, as a review of each country's relations with the Pacific had not been completed.

He also said he had informed the eighteen forum leaders of the decision this week and added that the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and civil society groups would attend.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said the United States was "disappointed by reports that the Solomon Islands has decided to exclude dialogue and development partners from this year's PIF Leaders Meeting," referring to the Pacific Islands Forum.

"We support the continued presence of all PIF partners, including Taiwan, at the annual PIF Leaders Meeting, as PIF leaders previously agreed in 1992," he added.

Opposition party politician Peter Kenilorea Jr., chairman of the parliamentary foreign relations committee, said the decision was an "enormous missed opportunity" for Pacific island nations to meet with global donors.

"We know that this issue relates solely to China and Taiwan," he told parliament.

After forum leaders were informed of the decision, President of the Marshall Islands Hilda Heine criticized interference in the forum's affairs in a speech to an ally of Taiwan's parliament.

"China 'interfered' at last year's meeting in Tonga to change the language of the leaders' communiqué," Heine pointed out.

References to Taiwan were removed after Chinese diplomats complained.

The Pacific Islands are among the world's most aid-dependent regions, on the front lines of sea-level rise, and the region has also been the focus of increasing security competition between the United States and China.

Although US allies Australia and New Zealand are the largest members of the forum, neither Beijing nor Washington is part of the group.

Kenilorea Jr. said he feared that China, which has a strong presence in the Solomon Islands, would still hold bilateral meetings with Pacific leaders on the sidelines of the forum.

"This could be seen by some PIF leaders as a betrayal of the collective and could risk an even greater split in the group," he told Reuters.

Forum foreign ministers will meet in Fiji next week.