Solomon Islands PM Jeremiah Manele Photo: AFP / RNZ Pacific
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 has been approved at the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting (FFMM) in Fiji.
"The recent decision by the government of the Solomon Islands to defer the partner dialogues scheduled for the 54th Pacific Islands Forum to 2026 the ministers welcomed the update provided by the government of the Solomon Islands," Tonga's Crown Prince and Foreign Minister Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala, who chaired the meeting, told reporters on Thursday night.
"We will engage more closely with partners in the months to come as the region progresses its reform on the partnership mechanism. It was a rich and robust discussion, and was reflective of our collective maturity and solidarity as a region."
While the move was met with support from Palau and Samoa some opposition was voiced by Fiji, Australia and New Zealand.
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka had said ahead of the meeting a deferral would put regional unity on the line.
Rabuka said the move would threaten to fracture decades of Pacific cooperation.
Earlier on Thursday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters blamed "outsiders" for causing disagreements within the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
As he departed Fiji's capital Suva, he fell just short of confirming that the Solomon Islands had made a unilateral decision to bar at least two dozen donor partners from attending the Honiara summit in September.
He admitted that the PIF "had a problem" which was "not of our internal making, but of external influences".
He said New Zealand had "made it very clear" about its feelings regarding the issue.
However, PIF deputy secretary general Esala Nayasi said the "discussions were cordial" in Suva.
"There was assurance on the importance of relationships amongst countries in the region. And paramount, is regional unity and solidarity," he said.
A former PIF policy advisor Sione Tekiteki told Pacific Waves on Wednesday that it was unfortunate how Solomon Islands proposal had played out publicly.
"There's a lot of media reporting around it, which [has] heightened and elevated this issue," Tekiteki, now a senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, said.
He also told RNZ Pacific that the issue also highlighted how external partners were pitting PIF members against each other.
