The Solomon Islands has announced that 21 donor countries—including the United States, China, and Taiwan—will not be invited to the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum, the region’s most important political gathering. The decision, confirmed by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, follows Beijing’s pressure to exclude Taiwan from the event.
As the largest security ally of China in the Pacific Islands, the Solomon Islands is hosting the annual meeting of the 18-member bloc this September. The move has sparked controversy given the ongoing strategic rivalry between China, the US, and Taiwan for influence in the region, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Three Pacific island nations maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan rather than China, raising concerns that Taiwanese officials would be barred from entering the Solomon Islands. Since switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019, the Solomon Islands has further restricted Taiwan’s access, removing it from a list of countries eligible for concessional entry earlier this year.
Prime Minister Manele explained to the Solomon Islands parliament that his cabinet decided against inviting any dialogue partners to this year’s forum, citing an incomplete review of the countries’ relationships with the Pacific. He informed the leaders of the forum’s 18 member states of this decision recently. However, major financial institutions such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and various civil society groups will still attend.
Opposition voices have criticized the move as a missed opportunity. Peter Kenilorea Jr., chairman of the parliament’s foreign relations committee, called it a “massive missed opportunity” for Pacific island nations to engage with global donors and highlighted that the decision was clearly tied to the China-Taiwan dispute.
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, a strong supporter of Taiwan, condemned what she described as Chinese interference in the forum. She pointed to last year’s meeting in Tonga, where Chinese diplomats reportedly pressured leaders to remove references to Taiwan from the official communique.
The Pacific Islands remain among the world’s most aid-dependent regions and face urgent challenges like rising sea levels. The increasing security competition between the United States and China has made the forum’s role in regional unity more crucial than ever.
Kenilorea Jr. expressed concern that China, which has a significant presence in the Solomon Islands, may hold separate bilateral meetings with Pacific leaders on the sidelines of the forum. He warned this could deepen divisions within the group and risk fracturing the collective Pacific voice.
The forum’s foreign ministers are scheduled to meet next week in Fiji as tensions continue to simmer.
