China’s Pacific plan seen as regional strategic game-changer
By DAVID RISING and NICK PERRY, Associated Press
Published: May 27, 2022, 7:30am
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China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, and his counterpart from the Solomon Islands, Jeremiah Manele hold a joint news conference in Honiara, Solomon Islands, early Thursday, May 26, 2022. Wang and a 20-strong delegation have arrived in the Solomon Islands at the start of an eight-nation Pacific tour that comes amid growing concerns about Beijing's military and financial ambitions in the region. (AP Photo)Photo Gallery
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — When China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands in April it raised concerns from the U.S. and its allies that Beijing may be seeking a military outpost in the South Pacific, an area of traditional American naval dominance.
But China upped the ante further this week, reaching out to the Solomon Islands and nine other island nations with a sweeping security proposal that, even if only partially realized, could give it a presence in the Pacific much nearer Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and on the doorstep of the strategic American territory of Guam.
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