The Solomon Islands, widely considered China’s closest security partner in the South Pacific, will soon sign a deal allowing the US Coast Guard to patrol its waters with local police aboard, Prime Minister Matthew Wale announced on a trip to Washington to strengthen bilateral ties.
While the South Pacific nation has deepened its ties with China over the past few years, particularly following the signing of a secret security pact in 2022, Wale’s visit underscored efforts to strengthen maritime cooperation with the US.
Wale, who took office in May pledging change for the Solomon Islands, met with the US Coast Guard’s vice commandant, Admiral Thomas Allan, while in America on Monday.
A US State Department readout stated Wale also met with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau to discuss the two countries’ evolving ties.
“Deputy Secretary Landau and Prime Minister Wale signed a Letter of Intent to return Peace Corps to Solomon Islands,” the readout said.
In 2019, the Solomon Islands established a diplomatic relationship with Beijing, after it cut ties with Taipei.
Three years later, in 2022, China signed a closely watched security agreement with the Solomon Islands. Beijing said the pact was intended to promote peace and stability in the region, but it sparked concern in the US and among its allies Australia and New Zealand.
More recently, in July 2026, Beijing reaffirmed its commitment to Honiara, pledging to deepen ties after China conducted a missile test over international waters in the South Pacific Ocean, prompting diplomatic protests from the region.
“China maintains continuity and stability in its policy toward the Solomon Islands and has always supported the Solomon Islands in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and legitimate rights and interests, as well as in pursuing a development path of its own choosing,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said last week, when he met with his Solomon Islands counterpart Rick Houenipwela.
Wang’s comments came after Wale lodged a “strong protest” with Chinese diplomats on behalf of Pacific nations over the July 6 missile test.
Against the backdrop of regional tensions, the Solomon Islands announced that the “ship rider agreement” will be signed in its capital Honiara next week, in a readout that added it would strengthen maritime enforcement and surveillance with Washington.
“Prime Minister Wale highlighted the urgent need to enhance security across the Pacific region, noting the increasing threats of drug trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” the Solomon Islands’ readout stated.
When asked about the new agreement, Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, told a Tuesday press briefing that China and the Solomon Islands are comprehensive strategic partners featuring “mutual respect and common development for a new era”.
“China supports efforts by the international community to help Pacific island countries realise sustainable development. At the same time, in developing relations with Pacific island countries, all parties should respect their independence, put development first, and uphold openness and inclusiveness,” he said, adding that relevant cooperation should not be targeted at any third party.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington described the matter as “a bilateral issue between the Solomon Islands and the United States”, adding: “I am in no position to comment.”
In recent years, the US Coast Guard has expanded patrols of the South Pacific.
Local Pacific police officers participating as “ship riders” have increasingly partnered with US Coast Guard patrols, helping inspect fishing fleets suspected of operating illegally across millions of square kilometres of ocean.
In 2024, so-called “ship riders” on a US vessel boarded Chinese fishing boats in Vanuatu and Kiribati.
The inspections drew protests from Chinese officials after some boats were found to have violated fishing laws.
There is a 1.5 million sq km (580,000 square mile) exclusive economic zone surrounding the Solomon Islands, a nation that counts tuna fishing as a major industry, alongside several other South Pacific countries.
The meeting between Wale and Landau also included talks about potential investment, including in Bina Harbour.
The Solomon Islands aims to develop a tuna processing factory at the harbour, with previously reported Chinese interest in the development sparking concern from Australia about it being used for dual purposes.
Landau also announced the State Department is providing US$6 million in new funding to expand its unexploded ordnance removal programme in the Solomon Islands.
“Deputy Secretary Landau expressed his hope to visit Solomon Islands and to see the reminders of our shared sacrifices during World War II,” the readout said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
