In the Solomon Islands, a US agency’s struggles hint at China’s influence | Conflict
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on December 5, 2023
Taipei, Taiwan – In October 2019, the United States announced that the Peace Corps, the storied volunteer programme established by John F Kennedy, would return to the Solomon Islands after a two-decade absence.
The announcement was the latest in a flurry of moves by Washington to counter China’s growing presence in Pacific island nations like the Solomon Islands, a sparsely populated but strategically located archipelago that lies about 2,000km northeast of Australia.
More than four years later, the Peace Corps has yet to arrive, even as volunteers have returned to other . . .
