The Solomon Islands, with a population of just 7 lakhs, have become a haven for the world’s superpowers. Japan is sending one of its deputy foreign ministers to the South Pacific nation on Monday amid concerns over China’s recent deal with the Solomon Islands. There are fears that the deal between the island nation and China could increase Beijing’s military influence in the region. Deputy Secretary of State Kentaro Uesugi’s three-day visit to the Solomon Islands follows a visit by a senior US delegation, who warned that Washington would visit the Solomon Islands if the security deal with China poses a threat to the interests of the US and allies. will take action against
China and Solomon last week ratified the security deal, which has also alarmed neighboring countries and Western allies including Japan, who fear a military build-up in the region. Countries like America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan fear that China may now build its military base in the Solomon Islands, which will be a threat to them. “We believe that this agreement could affect the security of the entire Asia-Pacific region and we are watching this development with concern,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday.
Japan is also concerned about Senkaku Island
During his visit to the Solomon Islands, Usugi is expected to express Japan’s concern about the security agreement and discuss bilateral and regional issues. Japan sees China’s ever-increasing military activity in the East and South China Seas as a threat to some of the world’s busiest sea routes. Japan is particularly concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyu.
America had announced the opening of the embassy
It is worth noting that in order to cultivate Solomon, America has recently announced to open its embassy there. The US State Department said that the people of the Solomon Islands have preserved the history of their relations with America on the grounds of World War II. However, the relationship that the US enjoys is under threat as China is “aggressively trying to bring politicians and businessmen from the Solomon Islands together”.