US Military Ship Refused Permission to Dock in Country with Deep Historic Tie to American Forces

The Solomon Islands, which recently negotiated a security agreement with China, denied entry to a ⚓U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

The cutter Oliver Henry, which is based in Guam, was scheduled to stop at Guadalcanal, Lt. Kristin Kam, a spokeswoman for the 14th Coast Guard District in Honolulu, wrote in an email, according to Stars and Stripes.

“The Government of the Solomon Islands did not respond to the U.S. Government’s request for diplomatic clearance for the vessel to refuel and provision in Honiara,” Kam wrote, referring to the capital city of the Solomon Islands on the island of Guadalcanal.

“Accordingly, CGC Oliver Henry diverted to Papua New Guinea to refuel and provision.”

The Coast Guard did not say exactly when the cutter was denied access port access in the Solomons, citing security reasons, but Stars and Stripes noted that the Oliver Henry arrived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Tuesday.

The move was interpreted as evidence that the partnership between China and the government of the Solomons is pulling the island chain into China’s orbit.

The cutter arrived without incident in Port Moresby, according to a Coast Guard news release cited by Stars and Stripes.

The visit followed a  patrol in “parts of the Coral Sea and the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea Exclusive Economic Zones,” the release stated, according to Stars and Stripes.