Admiral Samuel Paparo, who commands the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) overseeing over 300,000 personnel from the US West Coast to India, has a clearer view of the Chinese threat than any predecessor since Admiral Robert Willard (2009–2012). Yet in parts of the Pacific Islands, his influence is dwarfed by that of a Chinese timber or mining executive.
The asymmetry is stark: a senior US officer might visit once a year for a few days, exchanging pleasantries with local leaders. Meanwhile, Chinese companies—logging, fishing, mining, construction—maintain a constant presence, building relationships, conducting business (often rapaciously and corruptly), and cultivating a pro-Beijing constituency among politicians, businesspeople, and ordinary citizens. This is lubricated by scholarships for relatives, study trips to China, under-the-table payments, and support from fully staffed Chinese consulates and embassies, as well as Chinese organized crime. It is a systematic political warfare campaign across the Pacific—a region as strategically vital as when Japanese and American forces clashed there over 80 years ago.
Solomon Islands, site of the decisive World War II battle on Guadalcanal, exemplifies this dynamic. Chinese firms entrenched themselves through logging and mining ventures. The grip tightened in 2019 when Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government switched recognition from Taiwan to China—a decision made in secret, without popular consent. A subsequent security agreement, never publicly released but leaked in draft form, lays groundwork for People's Liberation Army deployments. Chinese police are already on the ground.
A Second Chance in Honiara
But a window has opened. An opposition coalition recently took office after a vote of no confidence against Sogavare's successor, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele. The new government, led by Matthew Wale, includes members skeptical of the China deal—patriots opposed to foreign domination. They are people of faith, proponents of consensual government, and largely untainted by the corruption that plagued recent administrations. However, they must deliver for citizens, even as Chinese proxies target them.
The US needs to demonstrate that a principled stand against Chinese influence yields tangible benefits. Admiral Paparo should recall the adage: “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” For decades, Washington outsourced the Solomons to Australia, deferring to Canberra's prickly insistence that America stay out of its “patch.” That was a mistake. The Australian Embassy in Honiara can list many projects it has backed—many improving lives—but strategically, it has failed to block Chinese inroads or offer an attractive alternative to Chinese cash. Canberra sometimes even abetted the Sogavare government's embrace of Beijing and never effectively challenged official corruption.
Here are two concrete steps Paparo and USINDOPACOM can take.
First, improve people's lives directly. The National Referral Hospital in Honiara is in dire condition: deteriorating facilities, shortages of everything. It is puzzling that Australia funded a multi-million-dollar water park for the 2023 Pacific Games and later offered $190 million for police, yet did little for the main hospital or provincial clinics, which lacked food for patients. The US—and USINDOPACOM—could lead a collaborative effort with Japan, India, the Philippines, and Australia (even Taiwan might contribute) to transform the National Referral Hospital into a modern, properly staffed and equipped facility. One idea: allow new US medical school graduates to serve there for a few years in exchange for loan forgiveness. Japan is already quietly upgrading the main hospital in Malaita, the most populous island. The US is building a new hospital in Palau with strategic intent—why not in Solomon Islands?
Second, help honest Solomon Islanders go after the corruption that greases Chinese subversion. Corruption, often with a China angle and at the highest levels, is widely reported by brave local journalists at In Depth Solomons—a shoestring operation that ironically received US State Department funding (money well spent). Australia did nothing notable, even as corrupt funds reportedly flowed into Australian real estate and bank accounts. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) was either incompetent or complicit, thinking it gave Canberra “control” over Solomon officials. It didn't—it allowed corrupt politicians to flourish while demoralizing honest citizens.
Admiral Paparo has clout in Washington. He can use it to pivot from outsourcing to direct engagement. The new government in Honiara offers a rare opening. The US must seize it—not with rhetoric, but with hospitals and accountability.
