Australia Speeds up Solomon Islands Project Amid Expanding Beijing Influence

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, right, locks arms with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on May 26, 2022. Xinhua via AP

Following the U.S. decision to open an embassy in the Solomon Islands, Australia is speeding up the construction of a logistics centre and other projects to compete with Beijing for influence in the key strategic South Pacific nation.

After cutting its 36-year-old diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019, Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, welcomed a sprawling embassy built by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2020