... One expert described the Chinese engagement as “extremely modest” and initiated by the Solomon government. The Chinese assistance has raised questions about what lies ahead for the Solomons, which has found itself at the centre of a struggle for influence between China and the United States and its allies.
Critics have warned that accepting help from Beijing will pave the way for a greater Chinese presence aimed ultimately at displacing the US as the dominant power in the Pacific.
Describing Beijing’s offer of help, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the supplies and personnel would strengthen the local police’s capabilities. China supported the Solomon Islands government in ensuring domestic stability, safeguarding bilateral relations and in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese people on the islands, Zhao said.
The unrest in the Solomons, population 680,000, started on November 24 after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was accused of using Chinese money in a national development fund to sway the votes of members of parliament. Sogavare has rejected allegations of corruption.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3164236/solomon-islands-calm-after-riots-suspicions-china-lingerSo... Color Revolution action?
(*)... The U.S. objective in the region “is not to change China but to shape the strategic environment in which it operates,” the strategy paper states. The U.S. called for “building a balance of influence” favorable to the U.S. and its allies and partners, and managing its competition with China responsibly.
The Biden administration has yet to release a strategy paper laying out thinking for U.S. policy toward China and China’s growing influence globally and in Asia and the Pacific. It has also retained aspects of the Trump administration’s bristling approach to China, including tariffs, and harsher talk on both sides. The delay in release of a grand vision on China has drawn criticism, especially given Biden’s emphasis on China as one of the United States’ long-term foreign policy challenges.
Though separate from the China one, China still featured prominently — and often harshly — in the government’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific. China’s “coercion and aggression spans the globe, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific,” the administration declares in the document... -
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-antony-blinken-china-asia-united-states-85ca36137fb531fe5da58c122c114271
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