Beijing Intends to Militarize Solomon Islands, Leaked Documents Reveal

Protestors outside the Parliament House building during the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's press conference in Honiara, Solomons Islands, on April 24, 2019. Robert Taupongi/AFP via Getty Images

An official document has been leaked revealing that Beijing intends to establish a military presence in the Solomon Islands, despite denials from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which on April 1 called such concerns “groundless and ill-intentioned.”

The leaked letter of intent from Avic International Project Engineering Co., a Beijing-based state-owned aviation company, was addressed to Premier Leslie Kikolo of Isabel Province in the Solomon Islands on Sept. 29, 2020.