US set to reestablish Embassy in Solomon Islands after 29 years

Secretary Blinken during his Fiji visit announced that the US will re-open its Embassy in the Solomon Islands.

China has been “aggressively” trying to bait business and political leaders of the nation with its infamous debt-trap. To counter its attempts, the US has decided to engage again with the Solomon Islands and reestablish its Embassy for the first time since 1993.

China in the Solomon Islands

In a bid to welcome Chinese “investments” or rather loans, the Solomon Islands stopped recognizing Taiwan from 2019.

As political tension is rose in the large volcanic islands, China tried to send in “advisers” to help “train” the nation’s Police in combating the protestors – or “extremists” as China calls them – demanding the deposition of the government.

The Islanders have been against the growing Chinese influence and are concerned at the rate their government is taking loans from China. Their government reportedly signed non-disclosure agreements with the Chinese government – under it they cannot make the interest rates and the total amount of loans public.

Leaked reports exposed how China offered the Solomon Islands loans of up to $100b shortly after the archipelago stopped recognizing Taiwan.

How can an archipelago like Solomon Islands would be able to repay $100b even if we ignore the interest rates? Know the answer? Then tell us!

Since then, the government has been under immense pressure not to fall for China’s debt-trap, which would then lead to … coercion.

China has for years tried to “invest” or actually inject huge loans into smaller and developing nations in a bid to take control of the country’s economy and political system.

Once the host nation accepts the loans, China then sends its nationals to the country who come with the promise to build infrastructure and develop products in demand internationally, but in reality overtake and destroy the local industry.

The Chinese begin making products that were already being produced in the country and that too from the “special economic zones” which give them the authority to pay no taxes – they are then able to sell the products at a cheaper rate while making profit … and successfully destroy the local industry while becoming the only source of local jobs.

Once that happens, the host nation has no choice but to do exactly what China says. As the host country is never able to repay the humongous loans at the set interest rate, and the economy suffers with everything going into the pockets of the Chinese, political instability grows and the people – fed up with their land, money, jobs, government, etc., being overtaken by the Chinese – revolt.

Chinese coercion doesn’t work on Australia

Such has been the case in the African countries China has “invested” in, and is happening in South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, etc.

The host nation with its entire structure crippled is then either led by the corrupt with vested interests in China, or is led by leaders who are too afraid to speak up against China because of the infamous Chinese coercion.

The Chinese threat to pull all Chinese businesses from the country that no longer has any local industry left is then impossible to ignore.