In the end, Pacific Island foreign ministers rebuffed Chinese overtures, and Wang returned to Beijing empty-handed.ĭespite Wang's failures, these events left traditional powers in the region-Australia, New Zealand, and the United States-rattled. Then, in late May, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi embarked ( PDF) on a whirlwind 10-day, eight-country tour of the South Pacific to win concurrence on “China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision,” a sweeping multilateral development and security agreement that would permanently enmesh Beijing in the region. Worried that Beijing might leverage the deal to acquire its first military base in Oceania, the United States and Australia quickly dispatched envoys to dissuade Solomon Islander Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare from signing the agreement. The deal authorizes China to regularly make warship visits and provide training and assistance for Solomon Islands policing. Thank China for that.Ī document leaked in March revealed Beijing's plan to ink a secret security agreement with the Solomon Islands. The Pacific Islands region hasn't had so much international attention since World War II.

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