U.S. Diplomats Sherman And Kennedy To Visit Solomon Islands Where U.S. Competes With China

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy plan to visit the Solomon Islands next month. Their fathers fought there in World War II, and the United States is now engaged in a modern battle for influence with strategic rival China.

A senior State Department official told Reuters on Sunday that Sherman and her delegation will mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal during their Aug. Six-8 visit and meet with senior officials "to underscore the U.S.A enduring relationship with the Solomon Islands”, as well as attending the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Honiara.

Sherman will be the latest senior U.S. official to visit the Pacific as Washington ramps up efforts to counter China's diplomatic offensive.

Ambassador Kennedy's father was the assassinated President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. He participated in the Battle of the Solomon Islands in World War II as a patrol boat captain. In addition to Ambassador Kennedy, Sherman's delegation will include Marine Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka (Deputy Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command) and Marine Corps Pacific Commander, Lt. Gen. Stephen Riddell.

State Department officials said the visit also had a special personal meaning for Sherman himself. Her father, Mar Sherman, was a Marine who was wounded in the Battle of Guadalcanal that began in August 1942 between the United States and Allied and Japanese forces.

The six-month battle marked the beginning of the U.S.-led offensive in the Pacific and demonstrated the strategic importance of the Solomon Islands' continued presence today.

In Honiara, Sherman will speak at a U.S.-organized ceremony at Sky ridge Ridge, where the Guadalcanal Monument is located. She will also speak at a commemorative ceremony hosted by the Solomon Islands in Bloody Ridge. She will also participate in other commemorations organized by the Solomon Islands and Japan, now a close ally of the United States.

"These events will honor the service and sacrifice of those who fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal, including American and Allied forces, the people of the Solomon Islands and the people of Japan," the official said.

China has been seeking to strengthen economic, military and police ties with Pacific island nations hungry for foreign investment. Washington has emphasized its historical ties to the Pacific, especially its shared sacrifice during World War II, and has vowed to devote more resources.

China's security deal with the Solomon Islands this year underscores Beijing's growing influence, a move that has raised concerns in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

There, he announced plans to open an embassy in the Solomon Islands and called the Pacific "the region of the future."

At a four-day summit this month, the Pacific island nations reminded the two superpowers that please them, telling the world's two largest carbon emitters to do more on climate change, while pledging to take action in increasingly fierce geopolitical Unity in the face of political competition.

Leaders attending the Fiji summit were also angry at China's attempts to carve up some countries into a trade and security deal, while Washington pledged more financial and diplomatic engagement.

U.S. Diplomats Sherman And Kennedy To Visit Solomon Islands Where U.S. Competes With China