Published on: 04/20/2022 – 10:43 China announced on Tuesday that it had signed a vast security agreement with the Solomon Islands, at a time when several Western countries, the United States and Australia in the lead, are worried about military ambitions from Beijing to the Pacific. The archipelago, which had recognized Taiwan as an independent country in 1983, chose to reverse the game of alliances in 2019 in favor of Beijing. Until recently, the Solomon Islands occupied a special place on the diplomatic map: the archipelago was one of 16 states to recognize Taiwan as an independent country. A decision taken in 1983 that made the Solomon Islands one of the main diplomatic thorns in China’s foot in Oceania – Beijing considering the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan as part of its territory. Chinese irritation has only s accentuate as Beijing has “assumed its status as a great power on the international scene”, notes The Diplomat. The ever more assertive desire of Xi Jinping, who came to power in China in 2012, to extend the Chinese sphere of influence in the world through the famous New Silk Roads (Chinese investment program) made the diplomatic challenge by the Solomon Islands in Beijing’s natural backyard – the Pacific – all the more intolerable. In 2019, everything changes with the fourth term of Manasseh Sogavare. The outgoing prime minister had campaigned on a promise to reverse the game of alliances in favor of Beijing. In September, the new government takes action and no longer recognizes Taiwan as an independent country. The Solomon Islands adhere, in the process, to the New Silk Roads and the principle of the “One China Policy” (“one China policy”, which considers Taiwan as part of Chinese territory). Manasseh Sogavare justified this diplomatic about-face by pursuing the economic interests of the archipelago. “In 36 years, Taiwan has only provided $460 million in aid to the Solomon Islands, while in 2017 alone, the archipelago exported $554.8 million worth of products to China,” said Denghua Zhang. , a specialist in Chinese policy in the Pacific at the Australian National University in Canberra, in an opinion piece published in October 2019 on The Diplomat website. An economic justification that was not enough for Washington and its allies. “American senators protested this diplomatic realignment. Taiwan deplored this decision and other countries in the region followed the example of the Solomon Islands, such as the archipelago of Kiribati which, two weeks later, also stopped recognize Taiwan”, notes The Guardian. This box is taken from an article by Sébastian Seibt published on November 26, 2021: “Solomon Islands: China in the backdrop of the riots”.