Speaker Pelosi shows how the South Pacific should deal with an aggressive and bullying China

I could hardly be described as an admirer of the 82-year-old Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

But one has to admire how she is responding to the usual threats and bullying from China as a result of her visiting Taiwan with a congressional delegation. Unlike the increasingly erratic US President, she has been steadfast in her support for Taiwan - and more particularly opposition to any attempt by China to effectively block elected leaders from daring to visit Taiwan.

What Speaker Pelosi has done is effectively give South Pacific, and Australian leaders a way to respond to China - toughen up, don't be bullied and question every move China makes in our region.

As Four Corners revealed this week, and as The Australian has reported, China is today effectively in control of the Solomon Islands - barely three years after the SI switched allegiance from Taiwan to the People's Republic.

Since then China has gained a stranglehold over the nation's exports - especially timber and fisheries - and increasingly over the mining sector. The local construction sector has been destroyed – state-owned Chinese companies are doing almost all government contracting work, and the lion's share of the diminished private sector activity.

And now right out of the PRC media oppression textbook, the Solomon Islands Government has effectively directed the state owned Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation to submit news stories etc for government approval before being broadcast.

It is also inevitable that the SI's police force will soon rely on China....and not Australia....to train and support personnel....an alarming prospect given that the SI police force effectively serves as the defence force as well.

What Speaker Pelosi has demonstrated is that the only way to deal with China's threats is to stand up to them. The Biden Administration is trying to walk down both sides of the street when it comes to China. A very dangerous course!

Readers may recall I praised the early South Pacific initiatives of the new Australian Foreign Minister...including her response to China' increasingly aggressive approach to the region which included trying to undermine the unity and solidarity of the Pacific Islands Forum.

What concerns me is that more recently the focus of a number of senior ministers has switched to an "accommodation" with China. China will see that as a sign it is "winning" and opens the way for yet more attempts to erode our regional influence even further.

Let there be no doubt about it China is not giving up on influencing more countries in our region.

It sees Speaker Pelosi as trying to undermine China's influence when it comes to Taiwan and its future.