[Published on Wednesday, August 20, 2025]
BY BEN BILUA
GIZO
FORMER Secretary to the office of the Prime Minister now a Provincial Member of Western Province has questioned the government whether the country’s sovereignty has been sold.
Jeffrey Wickham asked the question amidst tension between Solomon Islands and other regional countries following the decision to defer the post forum dialogue, which means the dialogue partners will not be attending the 54th Pacific Forum leaders meeting.
He said the current political pressure shows that China is slowly taking over Solomon Islands sovereignty as a country.
Wickham said traditional dialogue partners and regional countries have been with Solomon Islands since being independent and to defer the very institutions and countries that stand along side Solomon Islands since its existence is questionable.
“Let me say this, don’t ever use the sovereignty when we are not. Let’s not kid ourselves, our sovereignty has already been sold the moment we change allegiance from Taiwan to China. To say that we a sovereign country is a shame to some extend.
“It’s a pity that our leaders keep on using the word sovereign when comes to geopolitical issue when obviously we are not,” he said.
Wickham said the word “sovereignty” has lost its meaning in Solomon Islands because it has been used to serve someone’s purpose and interest.
He encourages the government to stick to its principles and slogan “friend to all enemy to none”.
“Solomon Islands cannot think for its self, someone must influence the decision. Sovereignty is no longer a catch word meaning it only serves some purpose. The world is so interconnected that we relate, trade and rely on each other so much so that no man is an island.
“It’s a fallacy to think in such a manner. In general, this is Geo politics all over again,” Wickham said.
He stressed that it is not the right time for Solomon Island to gamble with the big boys given that the country’s economy is going down.
Wickham said Solomon Islands as a country should be worry about the growing number of unemployment, weak economy, shortage of medicine and overall huge numbers of school drop-outs instead of geopolitical games.
“We lots of issues to worry about,” he said.
Boiling point
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele’s proposal not to invite countries such as the US, China and Taiwan to Honiara at next month’s leaders’ summit was approved at the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FFMM) in Fiji.
However, the decision was not going down well with other Pacific countries. Tuvalu and Samoa are threatening not to attend the meeting.
Caretaker Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said Samoa would find it “very difficult” to attend the meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands, if the long-standing practice of allowing Taiwan to participate was changed.
Prime Minister Feleti Teo of Tuvalu said he had written to Jeremiah Manele outlining Tuvalu’s position.
“We’ll see what the rest of the leaders’ response is to the proposal by the Solomons, and then we’ll make our decision.
“I’ll wait for the final decision on this arrangement, and then reconsider my participation,” he said.
Fiji also shows disagreement over the decision.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka warned the Solomon Islands’ decision threatens to fracture decades of Pacific unity and cooperation.
“We inherited these dialogue partners and development partners, and we should pass them on. If we create a fracture now, it could result in the fracturing and dismantling of the combined efforts of the Pacific Islands Forum and our dialogue and development partners,” he said.
History
Solomon Islands has been criticised for some of its decision after the switch of allegiance from Taiwan to China.
Both local and international media published red-flags decision and political moves since Solomon Islands become friends to China.
In the domestic front, there was an incident where the government supported the defacing of the plaque in front of the National Referal Hospital (NRH) indicating the hospital as a gift from the people of Taiwan.
SIG do the same to the plaque at Parliament’s Paul Tovua Complex, which houses offices of Parliamentarians and Parliament staff.
While there is a deliberate attempt to erase a part of our history and ties that past governments had established, many Solomon Islanders who are aware appreciate our history and the decisions made by past governments, just as they appreciate decisions made by current governments to push the nation forward.
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