![]() ![]() ![]() As a result, it wields a financial weapon more powerful than a fleet of battleships. Beijing is the largest trade partner of most nations in East and Southeast Asia, and the largest source of imports for almost all of the rest of the continent. tends to demonstrate its power by sailing a flotilla through contested waters or conducting complex exercises with allies, China prefers to speak with massive infusions of cash. Over the past few months, rumors of a pact have been circulating among the small cadre of observers who can locate the Solomons on a map (they’re about 1,200 miles northeast of Australia) and almost immediately sparked alarm. China’s rivals worry that it may be shifting its security strategy, from a focus on economic sway alone to an increased emphasis on military dominance. Last month, however, a secret deal between the Solomons and China aroused fear of Beijing’s expanding presence throughout the region. Since World War II, this remote chain of South Pacific islands has gone from occupied territory to colony to frequently chaotic independent state, all without the great powers seeming to notice. ![]() troops lost their lives in the six-month Battle of Guadalcanal there than in the deadliest four-year period of the Afghan War. The last time the outside world paid much attention to the Solomon Islands was in 1943: More U.S. ![]()
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