United States officials described the signing of a security pact between China and Solomon Islands as “very troubling” in internal emails, a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed.
Key points:
- In emails, US officials said the deal’s signing was “troubling” and “very unfortunate”
- The West has voiced concerns the deal could open the door for a potential military presence in the region
- Honiara has previously sought to reassure Australia and its allies this is not the case
Emails obtained by international news outlet Al Jazeera show how officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) responded to news the deal had been signed in mid-April.
“Yikes. This is very troubling,” Ryan Washburn, USAID’s mission director to the Philippines, Pacific Islands and Mongolia, wrote in an email.
“This is very unfortunate,” said Erin Nicholson, acting deputy assistant administrator for the USAID Bureau for Asia.
