Solomon Islands Forsakes Taiwan For China

In Solomon Islands’ capital, Honiara, Parliament voted 27-0-6 to switch relations from Taipei to Beijing. (Flickr)

The parliament of the Solomon Islands voted on September 16 to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, its historic partner, and establish relations instead with mainland China.  

Reuters reports that the shift comes after China reportedly offered $8.5 million in aid to the developing island nation to replace any Taiwanese aid money lost after the change. According to Al Jazeera, China’s foreign ministry hailed the transition, calling it part of “an irresistible trend.” 

“We stand ready to work with the Solomon Islands,” added Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

In Taiwan, the news—coming just a week after the Solomon Islands’ foreign minister, Jeremiah Manale, made a friendly visit to the country—provoked a sharp reaction, says the South China Morning Post. The Taiwanese government “declares the termination of diplomatic relations with the Solomon Islands with immediate effect, the end of all bilateral cooperative projects, as well as the recall of the staff of its embassy, technical mission, and medical mission stationed in the Solomon Islands,'' said Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who offered his resignation on the same day after taking responsibility for the development. “[Solomon Islands] Prime Minister [Manasseh] Sogavare has not only broken his own public promise but also disregarded the fruits of the 36 years of cooperation between Taiwan and the Solomon Islands,” Wu added. 

Taiwan has lost six diplomatic partners since 2016. Only 16 states, mostly in Central America and the South Pacific, recognize it as the legitimate government of China. Beijing has long pursued a strategy of separating the government in Taipei from its diplomatic allies in order to  erode the legitimacy of Taiwan, which it regards as a wayward province.

The U.S. has enjoyed renewed ties—including two potential weapons deals—with Taiwan since the election of President Tsai Ing-Wen in 2016. Reuters and the New York Times reported that Vice President Mike Pence has previously criticised China for using debt-trap diplomacy, in which unaffordable loans are offered to developing states as a form of political incentive. To express disapproval of the diplomatic shift, Pence cancelled a planned meeting with Sogavare during the United Nations General Assembly opening this week.

The move carries broad implications for the region, as China continues its long-term strategy of isolating Taiwan. Some, including Tsai, see this as a direct threat to Taiwan’s de facto sovereignty. "Over the past few years, China has continually used financial and political pressure to suppress Taiwan's international space," she told reporters after the Solomon Islands’ announcement. "I want to emphasise that Taiwan will not engage in dollar diplomacy with China in order to satisfy unreasonable demands," she added. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s standing offer to govern Taiwan under the same “one country, two systems” regime used Hong Kong looms large in the minds of many Taiwanese. Tsai’s pro-China challenger in the upcoming elections, Han Kuo-yu, has appeared to support this approach in the past, and he met with Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, this year. However, Tsai remains defiant. “China has sought to damage the morale of the Taiwanese people and force Taiwan to accept ‘one country, two systems,’” she told reporters recently. “I am confident that the 23 million people of Taiwan have this to say in response: ‘Not a chance.’”