Solomon Islands to ban US navy ships following China pact

The US has been informed that its navy vessels will be temporarily blocked from docking at the Pacific Island nation.

The news has strengthened fears over growing Chinese influence, DW reports.

US navy ships will not be allowed to enter ports on the Solomon Islands as the Pacific Island is planning to place a moratorium on them, the US embassy in Canberra, Australia said on Tuesday.

Relations between Honiara and Washington have been tense ever since the Solomon Islands reached a security agreement with China earlier this year.

"On August 29, the United States received formal notification from the Government of the Solomon Islands regarding a moratorium on all naval visits, pending updates in protocol procedures," the embassy said in a statement.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation."

Prime Minister Massaneh Sogavare has denied the reports of a moratorium, a spokesperson told Reuters, saying that Sogavare was set to clarify later on Tuesday.

Fear over China's expanding influence in the Pacific region has led the US, Australia and New Zealand to urge Sogavare to not sign the pact.

The draft deal, revealed in a leak in March, set out terms including the possibility of China sending armed forces to the islands to protect its investments, as well as docking its warships.

The proximity of the Solomon Islands to the US territory on the Pacific Island of Guam has sparked particular concern.

"The broad nature of the security agreement leaves open the door for the deployment of PRC [People's Republic of China] military forces to the Solomon Islands," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in April.

The signing of the pact "could increase destabilization within the Solomon Islands and will set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region," he said.

A US Coast Guard vessel that was patrolling for illegal fishing in the region was unable to make a routine port call at Honiara last week due to a failure from the island nation to respond to a request for refuelling and provisions.

Another US Navy ship, the Mercy, was, however, allowed to enter the port on Monday as it had arrived before the moratorium. The hospital ship is carrying out a two-week humanitarian mission.

"The United States is pleased that the U.S. Navy Ship Mercy subsequently arrived in Honiara on August 29 to begin its two-week humanitarian mission, together with personnel from Australia and Japan," a spokesperson at the US embassy in Canberra said.

The Pacific Island nation, with its 700,000-strong population, was hit by violent riots in November last year in which several people died. Sogavare blamed the unrest on unnamed foreign countries that were supposedly angered by the country cutting off relations with Taiwan in 2019.