Solomon Islands: In June 2025, the Solomon Islands Government quietly removed Taiwan (Republic of China, ROC) from its list of countries eligible for concessional entry. On paper, it looked like a technical immigration decision. In reality, it was a diplomatic rupture, a deeply political act that reaffirms the country’s growing alignment with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and, more worryingly, a departure from the principles of regional solidarity and sovereign friendship that have long defined the Pacific way.
For those of us who remember Taiwan’s contributions to our nation, not from history books but from lived experience, this decision is more than disappointing. It is a betrayal.
A FRIENDSHIP WE SHOULD NOT FORGET
Taiwan was among the first to extend a hand to Solomon Islands after independence. For decades, it remained consistent and people-centered. Its doctors served in our rural clinics. Its scholarships educated our children. Its agricultural specialists walked alongside our farmers. Taiwan gave generously and respectfully, without fanfare and without forcing its political weight on our internal affairs.
During political instability and budget crises, Taiwan offered real support—not just press releases. When ministries were broke and trust in government was low, Taiwan was one of the few development partners that provided direct and flexible budgetary assistance. In the realm of development cooperation, Taiwan proved what true friendship looked like.
Yet today, Solomon Islands has formally erased Taiwan from its immigration privileges. And it has done so just weeks before we host the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the region’s most important political gathering of island nations.
It’s not just poor timing. It’s a calculated move. One that signals to Beijing and the world that Taiwan’s decades of partnership now count for nothing.
THE SWITCH THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
In September 2019, Solomon Islands abruptly severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of establishing formal relations with the PRC. That decision was made in haste, under pressure, and without meaningful national consultation. Since then, China’s footprint has grown, from infrastructure projects and policing to its presence in our political discourse.
For the government, the decision was framed as a matter of national interest. But for many ordinary Solomon Islanders, particularly in Malaita Province, it marked the beginning of a loss of agency. A loss of identity. A loss of control over our foreign policy direction.
Many continue to question whether this so-called “strategic switch” has actually delivered the promises made at the time.
Now, with Taiwan erased from the concessional entry list, it’s clear the shift wasn’t just diplomatic, it was ideological, and it is still ongoing.
WHY THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM MATTERS
The Pacific Islands Forum, founded in 1971, is more than a regional meeting. It is a cornerstone of Pacific regionalism and collective identity. Its core values include mutual respect, sovereignty, inclusiveness, and solidarity among small island developing states. It is a platform through which Pacific countries assert a collective voice in the international system—on climate change, development, and geopolitical pressures.
To host the Forum while simultaneously pushing Taiwan out of our immigration framework sends a contradictory message. It diminishes the regional spirit. Worse still, it places us at odds with our fellow Forum members, Tuvalu, Palau, and the Marshall Islands, who maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan and continue to benefit from its partnership without succumbing to external pressure.
Solomon Islands’ move is not neutral. It is not innocent. It is not “business as usual.” It is a quiet but deliberate attempt to delegitimize Taiwan’s place in the Pacific.
And it sets a dangerous precedent that external powers can dictate the boundaries of friendship in our region.
THE FALSE NEUTRALITY OF FRIENDS TO ALL, ENEMIES TO NONE
Our foreign policy mantra “friends to all, enemies to none” is increasingly becoming a hollow slogan. It is invoked to excuse contradictions and justify decisions made under external influence. But let us not be fooled. Neutrality cannot coexist with selective allegiance.
You cannot claim friendship with all, while deliberately sidelining one partner in favour of another. You cannot promote openness while enforcing exclusion. And you cannot claim sovereignty while allowing foreign interests to steer your internal policies.
Let’s not pretend this is strategic diplomacy. It is not. This is a Pacific Islands country being pulled by geopolitical pressure, not guided by a principled, independent foreign policy.
To those who argue this is about economics or migration policy—remember this: friendship is not a commodity. It is not subject to cost-benefit analysis. No port, stadium, or dual-carriage highway can replace trust, history, and the kind of solidarity Taiwan offered for over three decades.
A MOMENT OF RECKONING
The question we now face is urgent: Are we, as a Pacific nation, charting our own course? Or are we allowing ourselves to be used, subtly coerced, and quietly directed by powers that neither speak our languages nor understand our cultures?
The world is watching the Pacific. And in this moment of strategic competition, Pacific nations must remember who we are. We are not pawns. We are not territories up for bidding. We are sovereign peoples, with the right to determine our own friendships, based not on force or fear, but on trust, dignity, and mutual respect.
Taiwan still matters to Solomon Islands. Its absence from a government list does not erase the lives it touched, the partnerships it built, or the goodwill it earned. It may no longer have an embassy in Honiara, but it still has a place in the hearts of many Solomon Islanders.
True leadership is not about who we bow to, it is about who we stand for. And if the government cannot remember that, the people will.
