USAID Emails Reveal Anxiety Over China’s Solomon Islands Security Pact

U.S. government emails accessed via a Freedom of Information request that reveal unease over China's security pact with the Solomon Islands. Image via USAID.

Newly-released emails obtained by Al Jazeera through a Freedom of Information request highlight U.S. unease over China’s recent security agreement with the Solomon Islands.

“Yikes! This is very troubling,” said Ryan Washburn, USAID mission director to the Philippines, Pacific Islands, and Mongolia.

The concern that Washburn and his USAID colleagues referred to was the prospect of China building a military outpost in the Solomon Islands. Even though both Beijing and Honiara have repeatedly denied any plans for a new base, the U.S. and its allies in New Zealand and Australia are nonetheless worried that the pact will lead to a greater Chinese military presence in the region.

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