SYDNEY -- The Solomon Islands signed on to a joint statement by the U.S. and Pacific Island nations this week, a reversal by the China-leaning government that some observers see as a result of hard-nosed diplomacy by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
A total of 15 countries and regions signed the Declaration on U.S.-Pacific Partnership released on the final day of the first U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit in Washington. The 11-point statement discusses strengthening U.S.-Pacific cooperation and addressing climate change, and condemns "Russia's brutal war against Ukraine."
