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Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

US opens embassy in Solomon Islands, eyeing China

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 2 Feb 2023 14:41
2 Min Read

The US State Department told lawmakers early last year that China's growing influence in the region made the reopening of the Solomon Islands embassy an urgent priority.

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  • US opens embassy in Solomon Islands in efforts to provoke China
    US soldiers salute during a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the opening of the US embassy in Honiara of the Solomon Islands, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. The United States opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands on Thursday in its latest move to counter China's growing influence. (AP)

In the latest efforts to push China's influence away from the Asia-Pacific region, the US opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands on February 2 in the capital city, Honiara, US official sources reported on Thursday. 

According to reports, the opening of an embassy coincides with Fijian leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, seeking to assess some aspects of his country's relations with China.

The US State Department told lawmakers early last year that China's growing influence in the region made the reopening of the Solomon Islands embassy an urgent priority.

Read more: 1st US-Pacific Summit under fire for inadequate Biden proposal

Regional powers in the Pacific have pumped aid into the region's islands during the COVID-19 pandemic to help them cope with the economic fallout, as the competition for influence between China and the West intensifies.

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According to an annual study published by the Australian Lowy Institute, "financial assistance allocated to the Pacific Islands increased by 47% in 2020 compared to the previous year."

"There has been a massive increase in loans," said senior researcher Alexander Dayant, stating that the total funding rose to $4.2 billion, a record high roughly equivalent to Fiji's gross domestic product.

Dayant added that, "a large part of the new spending was driven by the crisis, as tourism and trade declined due to the islands closing their borders to avoid the outbreak of the coronavirus," noting that, "The Pacific region faced enormous support needs and suffered a major economic downturn."

Overall, Pacific island economies shrank by 6.4% in 2020, double the global average, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund.

The Solomon Islands and China inked a security pact in late March 2022, and Australia and the UK are worried that the pact, whose details have not been made public, could be a step toward a Chinese military presence less than 2,000 km away from Canberra, prompting an increase in tensions amid an already inflamed region. China has denied that is has plans to militarize the island.

Read more: US pours $600M into the Pacific to "counter China's influence"

  • United States
  • US-China competition
  • Solomon Islands
  • China

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