Solomon Islands PM hails ties with China

Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare said that forging diplomatic relations with China is the most important decision made by the current government during an interview with Tavuli News on January 21.

In September 2019, Solomon Islands cut "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan region and established diplomatic relations with China.

In October 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 2758, reaffirming that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.

With the establishment of diplomatic relations between Solomon Islands and China, Sogavare said his country has finally come to the right side of history. The one-China principle is a broad consensus in the international community, he said.

Although it has been just over four years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides, the changes that China has brought to Solomon Islands are far greater than those by other partners in the past 45 years since its independence, Sogavare said.

"Although Solomon Islands is a small country, China has always treated us as equals. In contrast, the U.S. has only allowed each Pacific Islands country's leader to speak for three minutes during the U.S.-Pacific Islands Country Summit," he said.

Over the past decades, China has made important contributions to global development and prosperity, and its major ideas and initiatives are deeply in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he noted.

"I have made the right decision based on the interests of my country and people. In the face of serious challenges, such as COVID-19 and unrest, China has actively provided assistance to my country to enable the ruling coalition government to work in a stable environment," he added.

(Cover: A file photo of Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare. /Xinhua)