US moves to reopen Solomon Islands embassy to counter China

By MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is plowing ahead with plans to open a U.S. embassy in the Solomon Islands in a bid to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific. The State Department has informed Congress that it will establish soon an interim embassy in the Solomons’ capital of Honiara on the site of a former U.S. consular property. It said the modest embassy will at first be staffed by two American diplomats and five local employees. The department notified lawmakers nearly a year ago that China’s growing influence in the region made re-opening the U.S. embassy in the Solomon Islands a priority. Since then, the Solomons have signed a security pact with China and the U.S. has countered by sending several high-level delegations to the islands.