Solomon Islands has suspended entry into its waters for foreign naval vessels pending the adoption of a new process for approving port visits, the Solomon Islands’ office said on Tuesday. prime minister, in an attempt to better control its exclusive economic zones.
The move follows an incident last week when a US Coast Guard ship, the Oliver Henry, was unable to make a routine port call because the government did not respond to a request to refuel and supply it – him
The Solomon Islands have had a strained relationship with the United States and its allies since it reached a security pact with China this year.
“We have asked our partners to give us time to review and put in place our new processes, before sending more requests for military ships to enter the country,” Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare said in a statement.
“These will apply universally to all visiting naval vessels,” he said in the statement his office emailed to Reuters.
Sogavare added that he wanted to build national capacity to police the Pacific island nation’s exclusive economic zones.
In a speech Tuesday afternoon to welcome the U.S. hospital ship Mercy, Sogavare said last week’s delay on the Oliver Henry was because information had not been sent to his office in time .
It also confirmed delays in approving the entry of the British navy ship Spey, which also aborted its planned port call, the statement said.
As a result of the two incidents, Solomon Islands is reviewing approval procedures, he said.
Earlier, the US embassy in Canberra, the Australian capital, said the Solomon Islands had notified it of a moratorium on navy ships entering its ports.
“On August 29, the United States received formal notification from the Solomon Islands government of a moratorium on all naval visits, pending updates on protocol procedures,” the embassy said in a statement. communicated
The Mercy had arrived before the moratorium, the embassy said, adding that it was monitoring the situation.
Oliver Henry was patrolling for illegal fishing in the South Pacific for a regional fisheries agency when he requested entry to refuel in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.
On Monday, a US State Department spokesman called the lack of clearance for Oliver Henry “regrettable”, and said the US was pleased Mercy had been cleared.
Separately, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it was unfortunate that “we have seen the Chinese try to intimidate and coerce nations across the IndoPacific into doing their bidding and serving the which they believe are their selfish national security interests rather than the broader interests of a free and open IndoPacific”.