The United States says it welcomes Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale’s shift in foreign policy and wants to strengthen economic and security ties with Honiara based on “transparency, collaboration and equal partnership.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Murray said Washington was encouraged by Wale’s early international engagement, including visits to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the United States and Japan.
“We’re delighted to see Prime Minister Wale reprioritise his approach to foreign policy as he’s come into power as prime minister,” Murray said during a virtual press briefing.
Murray said Wale’s visit to Washington last month had produced progress on several areas of bilateral cooperation.
These included finalising an investment incentive agreement with the U.S Development Finance Corporation, a shiprider agreement with the U.S Coast Guard and steps to restore the Peace Corps presence in Solomon Islands.
The shiprider agreement was signed in July, while a country agreement to bring the Peace Corps back to Solomon Islands was signed during U.S Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s visit to Honiara.
Murray said Washington wanted to build on those agreements and expand cooperation with Solomon Islands.
“We want to continue to look for ways in which we can work with the Solomon Islands as an economic and security partner,” he said.
He said Wale’s government was reviewing its relationships with a range of regional partners, including China and Australia.
“Prime Minister Wale is reconsidering his approach and his government’s approach to other counterparts, whether it’s China or whether it’s Australia or others in the region,” Murray said.
The United States, he said, wanted to ensure it could offer Solomon Islands a reliable alternative based on equal partnership.
“We want to make sure and the Deputy Secretary has conveyed this to the prime minister that we can be a strong partner of the Solomon Islands and that we can engage the Solomon Islands on the basis of transparency, collaboration, and in the spirit of equal partnership,” he said.
Murray did not directly address whether the United States supports the possible Australia-Solomon Islands security treaty or whether the 2022 Solomon Islands-China security agreement should be allowed to lapse when it reaches its five-year mark.
Instead, he emphasised the broader U.S commitment to strengthening relations with Honiara.
The United States and Solomon Islands have maintained diplomatic relations for 48 years, with Murray linking the relationship to their shared history during World War II, particularly the Battle of Guadalcanal.
He said the relationship had developed around shared values including democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
“We remain committed to that relationship,” Murray said.
Murray said Washington was looking forward to building on what he described as recent successes with Solomon Islands and strengthening cooperation in both economic and security areas.
“We look forward to continuing to build out that relationship and build on these recent successes that we’ve had with the Solomon Islands,” he said.
