3 weeks ago
Solomon Islands seeks to restore ties with U.S., Australia
The Solomon Islands is a country made of many islands in the Pacific Ocean.
For a long time it was close friends with countries like the United States and Australia.
Recently, its leaders became closer friends with China, which left the U.S. and Australia feeling left out.
Now the Solomon Islands has a new leader, Prime Minister Matthew Wale.
He wants to be friends with everyone again, including the U.S. and Australia.
He visited Australia and the United States to talk about rebuilding their friendship.
He also signed a letter of intent to bring back the Peace Corps, a program where American volunteers help communities in other countries.
The foreign minister says the Solomon Islands still wants to stay friendly with China too.
Their rule is 'friends to all and enemy to none,' which means getting along with everyone.
Leaders from Pacific countries met in Fiji to talk about these big decisions.
Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela said the country is repairing ties with traditional partners such as the United States and Australia.
The comments came on Friday at the Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers' meeting in Suva, Fiji.
Prime Minister Matthew Wale, elected in May, replaced a leadership that had deepened ties with China and signed a security pact that alarmed the U.S. and its allies.
Wale visited Australia in July and travelled to Washington last month, where he signed a letter of intent to restore the Peace Corps programme; the trip also included Tokyo.
Houenipwela said reconnecting with traditional partners does not change the government's 'friends to all and enemy to none' foreign-policy principle.
- Who
- Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela and Prime Minister Matthew Wale
- What
- The Solomon Islands is repairing ties with traditional partners including the United States and Australia while retaining its 'friends to all and enemy to none' foreign policy.
- Where
- Suva, Fiji, at the Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers' meeting
- When
- Announced Friday, August 7, at the Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers' meeting; Wale was elected prime minister in May, visited Australia in July, and travelled to Washington last month.
- Why
- To bring longstanding partners, who felt 'out in the cold,' back into closer engagement amid mounting strategic competition between China and Western partners in the Pacific.
Western re-engagement
Balanced friends-to-all policy
Foreign policy direction
Western re-engagement
The new government under former China critic Matthew Wale is rebuilding ties with the U.S. and Australia, who felt 'out in the cold' under the previous China-aligned leadership.
Balanced friends-to-all policy
The government says the outreach does not alter its overarching 'friends to all and enemy to none' principle, indicating it will maintain ties with all partners, including China.
China's role in the Pacific
Western re-engagement
The previous leadership's security pact with China alarmed the United States and its allies, and Canberra has pledged stronger relations with Honiara amid concerns over Beijing's influence.
Balanced friends-to-all policy
The government frames the shift as a broader diplomatic approach that reconnects with longstanding partners while Pacific leaders confront mounting strategic competition between China and Western partners.
Key facts
- Country
- Solomon Islands
- Prime Minister
- Matthew Wale
- Foreign Minister
- Rick Houenipwela
- Foreign policy principle
- "Friends to all and enemy to none"
- Announcement venue
- Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers' meeting, Suva, Fiji
- Date
- Friday, August 7
- Recent diplomatic steps
- Australia visit in July; Washington talks and Tokyo stop last month; letter of intent to restore the Peace Corps
- Predecessor policy
- Deepened ties with China and signed a security pact with Beijing
Quotes
Rick Houenipwela
Solomon Islands Foreign Minister
“"Our main framework is friends to all and enemy to none."”
theprint.in
“"We have to restore relationships,"”
theprint.in
Sources
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