By Focus | 2025-08-14

Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) foreign ministers August 14 in Suva, Fiji, approved a controversial Solomon Islands proposal to bar PIF dialogue partners from attending the PIF leaders' summit in September.

The move shuts out 21 countries from the September 8-12 gathering in Honiara, Solomon Islands. They include China, Taiwan and the United States.

The PIF has 18 members, including Australia, New Zealand and most Pacific island nations.

Unease in the region

In the days leading up to the foreign ministers' decision, regional governments expressed "unease" and voiced warnings over "foreign influence" in Pacific decision-making.

Pro-Beijing Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele acted to avoid a confrontation over Taiwan's participation, a key point of contention between China and other forum members, several Pacific and Australian officials told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation earlier in August.

Beijing has pressed host nations to exclude Taiwan.

In early August, Manele told parliament of the plan to exclude the 21 dialogue partners, citing a need to review how PIF nations engage with non-member states, according to Reuters.

Manele called the move a deferral, not a permanent change, saying he merely had postponed dialogue with the partners until 2026.

Disappointment in Taiwan

Taiwan is recognized by three PIF members -- Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands -- and has participated in the PIF for decades.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said earlier in August it should be welcomed to this year's PIF summit, noting that it had "adhered to the 'Pacific Way' spirit of diversity and inclusiveness shared by all PIF member countries" in its engagement with the region.

China has not commented publicly, but its diplomats have previously lobbied to remove references to Taiwan from PIF communiques, as happened at last year's meeting in Tonga.

Loophole benefits China, hurts Taiwan

Although Manele barred all PIF dialogue partners, the impact will be much worse on Taiwan.

Any scrapping of invitations "does not stop partners at the bilateral level from reaching out through their respective embassies," former PIF adviser Sione Tekiteki told Pacific Waves, a podcast of Radio New Zealand.

That loophole benefits China. It has an embassy in Honiara, so its officials can still meet the convened PIF leaders in Honiara in September.

Taiwan is unlikely to obtain visas in time, giving Beijing a diplomatic edge.

"Even if we do see a number of external partners seeking to have meetings with Pacific countries in Honiara, there will be one obvious absence -- Taiwan," Anna Powles, associate professor of security studies at Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand, told Pacific Waves.

Nations react

Various countries long involved in or with the PIF took sides on the matter.

The United States expressed disappointment. It supports "the continued attendance of all PIF partners, including Taiwan, at the annual PIF Leaders Meeting, as previously agreed by PIF leaders in 1992," an unnamed State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

Outsiders are now telling us who we can have as guests. That's not the Pacific way," New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said August 14 in Suva.

Other critics include Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape, who cited the damage to regional unity and Pacific cooperation, respectively.

Some leaders took Manele's side, including those of Palau and Samoa.

Implications in a contested region

Strategic competition between China and the United States is heating up in the Pacific, so Honiara's proposal could have long-term implications.

Since switching ties from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, the Solomon Islands has deepened security and economic links with China.

Blocking 21 dialogue partners from the PIF leaders' meeting in September will amount to a "massive missed opportunity" to meet global donors, Solomon Islands opposition MP Peter Kenilorea Jr. told Reuters earlier in August.

Without Taiwan in the room, the balance of engagement in the Pacific may tilt further toward Beijing, former PIF adviser Tekiteki noted.