By Michelle Ndaga.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has announced that 21 donor nations including the United States, China, and Taiwan will not be invited to the Pacific Islands’ top political meeting next month, in a move that follows reported pressure from Beijing to exclude Taipei.
The Solomon Islands, China’s closest security ally in the Pacific, will host the annual gathering of the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in September. The decision affects major external partners that have long engaged with the bloc on issues ranging from climate change to development aid.
Three PIF members maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan rather than China, and had raised concerns that Taipei’s officials would be denied entry. Those fears deepened after the Solomon Islands, which switched recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019, formally removed Taiwan from its list of countries eligible for concessional entry in April.
The exclusion of both Washington and Beijing from the summit marks a rare diplomatic turn in a region where global powers have been vying for influence. Analysts say it could signal the Manele government’s intent to keep the September meeting focused solely on intra-Pacific priorities though it risks further straining relations with key development partners.
