The United States reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands on Thursday (February 2), 30 years after it was closed, amid growing rivalry with China in the South Pacific.
The reopening of the US Embassy marks the "
renewal of our commitment to the people of the Solomon Islands and to our partners in the
Asia-Pacific region", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Agreement with Beijing
The United States closed its embassy in the capital Honiara in 1993 after the end of the Cold War, which led to the closure of several diplomatic representations and reconfigured Washington's priorities.
This reopening of the American embassy comes after the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, signed in 2022 a vast security agreement, with vague outlines, with Beijing.
Many Western countries, first and foremost the United States and Australia, fear that this pact will allow China to strengthen its military presence in the Pacific.
Mixed reactions
At the opening ceremony, US diplomat Russell Corneau, acting US representative in Honiara, said the embassy would serve as a "
key platform
" between his government and the Solomon Islands.
According to the archipelago's foreign secretary, Colin Beck, the reopening of the embassy has been "
welcomed by the government and people of the Solomon Islands
".
But on the streets of the capital, reactions were mixed.
Artist Natty Sala described it as a '
step in the right direction
' to improve the two countries' diplomatic ties and hopes Washington will step up its efforts to clear away the tons of Japanese and American munitions dating from World War II that were left behind. never exploded and still litter the coasts of the archipelago.
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If Lois Bana, 50, considers this reopening positive, she wonders about the weight of "
geopolitics
" in the American decision, while the United States wishes to counter China's influence in the region.
In September 2022, the White House announced a new fund of $810 million in aid for the South Pacific islands, already declaring at the time that it wanted to increase the diplomatic presence of the United States in this region.
