At a carefully choreographed press conference in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a promise that will be bookmarked by diplomats and analysts in capitals around the world. Beijing, he said, had “no intention” of building a military base in the Pacific nation.
A month after China and the Solomon Islands signed a security agreement, sparking concerns in the United States and its allies, Wang on Thursday embarked on a 10-day tour of eight Pacific nations that also includes Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tonga, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. His visit is the latest chapter in an intensifying geopolitical race to woo the region’s nations. Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, visited Fiji in February and Australia’s new Foreign Minister Penny Wong landed in Suva on Thursday.
