The Solomon Islands will no longer allow U.S. naval vessels access to its ports pending “updates in protocol procedures,” according to the U.S. Embassy in Australia.
The change in policy comes after a U.S. Coast Guard ship, the Oliver Henry, conducting an anti-illegal fishing patrol was denied a Solomon Islands port call on Aug. 23. The Pacific nation, led by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, has recently fostered closer ties with China, signing a security agreement with Beijing in April as relations with the United States have worsened.
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Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the U.S. government has been informed of a “moratorium on all naval visits, pending updates in protocol procedures,” according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Australia, who added that officials will “monitor the situation.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Australia confirmed the report to the Washington Examiner but could not provide any additional information.
Sogavare is expected to make a statement on the moratorium on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he is “disappointed in this decision” by the Solomon Islands not to allow the Oliver Henry to dock and refuel, calling it a “routine” procedure.
A State Department official said on Monday that the “lack of diplomatic clearance for the Oliver Henry was regrettable.”
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The Solomon Islands occupies a strategic position in the Pacific, and Western officials have expressed concern that the nation’s pact with China enhances its influence in the region. The country’s prime minister said the new deal would not allow China to establish a naval base and promised it would not undermine peace and security within the islands.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the State Department for comment.
