bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

The leader of Solomon Islands said he spurned a US-Pacific Islands summit this week to avoid being subjected to a “lecture” about the United States’ qualities.
The pro-China prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, also said he had “more important” business to deal with at home where he had a heavy legislative agenda in parliament.
“I am not going to sit down there and listen to people who lecture me, no way,” he told reporters on his return home on Wednesday evening in a news conference shown on local media.
Sogavare, who was in New York last week to attend the United Nations General Assembly, did not extend his stay in the US to attend the summit hosted by President Joe Biden on Monday.
“We’re disappointed that he’s chosen not to come to this very special summit,” a White House official said at the time.
Tiny Cook Islands, Niue to get US embassies amid Biden’s powered-up Pacific push
Sogavare said he had attended a similar Pacific summit last year.
“How these meetings are arranged, they give you three minutes to talk and then you go and listen to them lecture you, lecture you about how good they are,” he said.
“It needs now for them to respect Pacific leaders and leaders everywhere now. They need to change their strategies.”
Sogavare said he had been treated differently by the leaders of Australia, China and South Korea, who each held hour-long meetings with him.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement on Wednesday the summit had seen the US make a significant pledge for infrastructure investment, and the meeting was a “significant step towards making the Pacific more secure and prosperous”.
Biden pledged to work with Congress to provide US$200 million more in funding for projects in the region aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, spurring economic growth, countering illegal fishing and improving public health.

At the UN General Assembly, Sogavare had praised China’s development cooperation as “less restrictive”.
The Solomons leader severed diplomatic ties with self-ruling Taiwan in 2019 in favour of official relations with Beijing, unlocking large sums of Chinese aid and investment.
In July, China rolled out the red carpet for Sogavare and signed a raft of deals, including one allowing it to extend its police presence in the island nation until 2025.
Additional reporting by Reuters


China sends help to quake-hit Vanuatu as it expands Pacific island ties

World welcomes 2025 with light shows, hugs and ice plunges

Is Australia taking myopic approach in wooing Pacific nations to counter China?

Why Vanuatu should expect more aftershocks – and maybe another earthquake

Pacific nations

Solomon Islands PM Sogavare says he snubbed US-Pacific summit to avoid ‘lecture’

US President Joe Biden poses with leaders from the Pacific island nations during a summit in Washington on September 25. Photo: AP

Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 22. Photo: AFP

Tiny Cook Islands, Niue to get US embassies amid Biden’s powered-up Pacific push

Joe Biden speaks during last year’s US-Pacific Island Country Summit in Washington, where the White House unveiled its Pacific strategy. Photo: AP

Coral on Niue Island in the South Pacific. The tiny island state is set to join fellow Pacific nations Solomon Islands and Tonga, which both got new US embassies earlier this year. Photo: Conservation International / AFP

Solomon Islands joins China in blasting Japan over Fukushima water release

An aerial view of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters

Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday. Photo: AP

Australia-China relations: Solomon Islands may lean less on the West with new pact, but at what cost?

A view of Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands. Photo: Xinhua

National flags of the Solomon Islands and China flutter in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Australian PM Scott Morrison’s government has been criticised for its “big brother” approach to the Solomon Islands. Photo: AP

Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, has signed a security pact with China. Photo: AP 

News

Asia

Australasia

Manasseh Sogavare said he attended a similar meeting last year where ‘they give you three minutes to talk and then you go and listen to them lecture you about how good they are’
Sogavare added he also had ‘more important’ business to deal with at home


Manasseh Sogavare said he attended a similar meeting last year where ‘they give you three minutes to talk and then you go and listen to them lecture you about how good they are’


Solomon Islands PM Sogavare says he snubbed US-Pacific summit to avoid ‘lecture’

Manasseh Sogavare said he attended a similar meeting last year where ‘they give you three minutes to talk and then you go and listen to them lecture you about how good they are’ Sogavare added he also had ‘more important’ business to deal with at home

Manasseh Sogavare said he attended a similar meeting last year where ‘they give you three minutes to talk and then you go and listen to them lecture you about how good they are’

Sogavare added he also had ‘more important’ business to deal with at home