A senior US diplomatic delegation will visit the Solomon Islands and other islands in the Pacific Ocean this week, the White House announced Monday, amid heightened concerns about Chinese ambitions in the strategic region.
Kurt Campbell, White House chief of homeland security for Asia-Pacific, and Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, will lead the delegation, said National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
The envoys will visit the state of Hawaii and the islands of Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Representatives from the State Department, the Pentagon and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will join the delegation to “deepen lasting relationships with the region and promote a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” Watson said.
They will primarily focus on the Solomon Islands, as the United States and Australia are concerned about the security deal the small country recently struck with China.
The details of the text are unknown, but a preliminary version has leaked, worrying Americans and Australians over fears China will use it as a military base in the Pacific, with a naval deployment around the islands.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said his country has no intention of allowing China to build a military base on its territory.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the region in February to underscore Washington’s commitment to developing a long-term strategy to curb Beijing’s growing ambitions.
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