Advertisement
Advertisement
Solomon Islands
TOPIC
 / location

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands is a nation composed of hundreds of islands in the South Pacific. In 2022, it signed a security pact with China, causing uproar among some of its neighbours, including Australia, and concern for countries such as the US that have strategic interests in the area.
Capital
Honiara
Head of State
King Charles III
Head of Government
Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele
The weather warning system on display at the World AI Conference in Shanghai last week. Photo: Getty Images
Science

China’s AI weather warning system Mazu expanding across Global South

The system has been designed to provide ‘tailored’ services that help developing countries better prepare for extreme weather events.

videocam
China’s military

Opinion | China’s missile test from a submarine is no guarantee of regional stability

videocam
7
SCMP Highlights

Chinese scientist sodium battery leap; petition to boot Argentina: 7 highlights

Pacific nations

China sends a message to Pacific islands amid unease over missile test

Solomons prime minister has pledged to review China pact while advancing talks on a comprehensive treaty with Australia.

videocam
13
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks in Beijing on Tuesday with Rick Houenipwela, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Solomon Islands. Photo: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Australia

Australia, Fiji sign mutual defence pact to boost Pacific security

Australia has greatly upped its diplomatic efforts in the region following China’s secretive security deal with the Solomon Islands in 2022.

Pacific nations

Vanuatu bans ‘foreign’ military bases in new security pact with Australia

The treaty is the latest in a string of Pacific deals Australia has signed seeking to curb China’s expanding security influence.

16
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
China education

‘Natural’ choice: why Unesco’s new STEM education centre is based in Shanghai

China is working with the UN agency to help the world’s least developed countries advance technical education and grow their talent pools.

16
President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Unesco headquarters in Paris on March 27, 2014. Photo: AFP
Pacific nations

Australia pledges US$1.7 million in aid after Cyclone Maila kills 11 in Pacific

Entire villages were destroyed in the storm, was briefly classified as a Category 5 cyclone.

Japan

Solomon Islands residents live in fear of WWII bomb explosions

With more people on the islands killed or injured due to the munitions, a UN team calls for international efforts to remove the danger.

Pacific nations

Solomon Islands’ defence force dream: an Australia-China flashpoint?

A military force would help quell unrest, but some say relying on Beijing for arms may make the Pacific nation an ‘enemy state’ of the West.

videocam
26
Royal Solomon Islands Police Force officers train with a Chinese police liaison team in 2022. Photo: RSIPF/AFP
China-Australia relations

Call for ‘Pacific Eyes’ intelligence body to offset China’s growing presence

Think tank proposes dedicated alliance – initially with Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji – to avoid being ‘blindsided’.

videocam
5
A new report from an Australian think tank suggests Australia and other Pacific nations form a network to help plug intelligence gaps, particularly amid what it called China’s “unprecedented security inroads” in the region. Photo: Australian Defence Force/AFP
New Zealand

New Zealand calls on US to counter China’s Pacific mineral push

New Zealand wants stronger ties with the US to shield Pacific allies from exploitation amid rare earth riches and growing geopolitical threats.

videocam
16
China’s Communist Party

AI-enhanced bodycams among advanced police gear China shows developing nations

At 3-day forum, officials from nations such as Belarus, DRC, Nicaragua and Ethiopia meet China’s minister for public security.

videocam
Pacific nations

Pacific Islands leaders call for ‘ocean of peace’ but face rough seas at summit

The Pacific Islands Forum has been clouded by allegations that host Solomon Islands did not invite Taiwan to please its close backer.

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa receives a gift from a Solomon Islander during the opening ceremony on Monday. Photo: Xinhua
Pacific nations

Controversy as Solomon Islands freezes out all Pacific Islands Forum partners

Observers say the ‘pragmatic compromise’ aims to create space for Pacific-only dialogue and stop geopolitics from tearing the PIF apart.

videocam
6
Flags from Pacific nations are seen on the last day of a Pacific Islands Forum in 2018. Photo: AFP
Pacific nations

A drop in the ocean? Pacific nations tap local know-how for marine conservation

Among the measures being taken are a ban on fishing and mining activities in vast marine protected areas.

Pacific nations

Most Pacific island women don’t work. The World Bank wants to change that

Outdated laws and social norms keep 57 per cent of working-age women across the Pacific out of the labour force, the bank says.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Pacific nations

Pacific island nations see a US pullback – will China step up?

The Pacific Islands Forum wants answers from Washington over its unmet financial pledges to the region, including US$200 million in funding.

Former US president Joe Biden (centre) stands with Pacific Islands Forum leaders at the White House following a summit in 2023. Photo: AFP
New Zealand

Letters | Why China conducted naval drills in waters between Australia and New Zealand

Readers discuss Beijing’s maritime strategy, the US’ global influence, and the rise of China’s creative industry.

Diplomacy

Opinion | New Zealand need not fear China’s growing ties with Pacific nations

Rather than falling victim to zero-sum illusions, the West must embrace the multiplex nature of Pacific diplomacy.

videocam
4
Diplomacy

Why China may face ‘scrutiny’ over police diplomacy in developing world

From freeing scam centre victims to sharing police techniques, China is looking to expand its influence and protect citizens overseas.

videocam
28
Chinese police escort Chinese nationals suspected of being involved in telecoms fraud after they were repatriated from Myanmar, in Nanjing on February 20. Photo: Xinhua
Pacific nations

Miss Pacific Islands hit by fraud row after Samoa beauty queen wins title

Pageant judges stopped from leaving the host nation, Solomon Islands, as police investigate fraudulent activities at the event.

Samoa’s Litara Ieremia Allan was crowned Miss Pacific Islands on February 8. Photo: Instagram/litaraieremiaallan
US-China relations

Don’t push Pacific Islands to choose between China and the West, UK admiral says

A Royal Navy admiral warns that Beijing’s global maritime dominance means China holds vast influence over the countries.

videocam
7
Australia

Is Australia taking myopic approach in wooing Pacific nations to counter China?

Australia has signed deals with the Solomon Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea in moves seen as securing its clout as the Pacific leader.

14
Australia

Australia strikes US$118 million policing deal with China-friendly Solomons

Australian PM Albanese called the pact a ‘new foundation’ for Canberra’s security ties with Honiara as Beijing’s clout in the Pacific grows.

videocam
Australian soldiers and federal police officers in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Photo: AP
US-China relations

As No 2 US envoy ends Pacific tour, Beijing scores a diplomatic win on Taiwan

After Beijing envoy demands ‘correction’, Pacific Islands Forum scraps Taiwan reference from its annual summit’s final communique.

videocam
US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (left) attends a ceremony in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Thursday to repatriate sacred human relics seized in New York by the FBI in 2016. Campbell also attended the opening of America’s new embassy in the Pacific nation. Photo: Reuters
Pacific nations

Australia urged to cut fossil fuels as Pacific backs landmark policing plan

Activists say better leadership must come from Australia, accused of ‘climate fraud’ over its continued expansion of gas and coal projects.

Pacific nations

Australia pushes Pacific police force proposal to check China’s ambitions

Pacific leaders endorsed on Wednesday a plan creating a 200-officer police force to address security challenges and limit China’s reach.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement