Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry in Guam, 2020. (USCG)
SYDNEY — With the Solomon Islands still imposing a “moratorium” on foreign naval vessels visiting the Pacific island state, the US has pivoted to setting up a new Defense Cooperation Agreement with neighboring Papua New Guinea, granting the US “unimpeded access” to major air and naval bases around the island state.
The details of the agreement, first signed last month, were only made public a few days ago. Perhaps the biggest benefit of the deal in the long run for the United States is that it gives US forces access to the joint Australian-PNG facility on Manus Island, where the US built facilities during World War II. Australia is spending at least $175 million AUD to improve the port.
The deal with PNG, as the island state is known in the region, appears to have been driven, at least in part by the Solomon Islands decision to impose a moratorium on naval ships calling or resupplying at its ports.
“While the USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) port call shifted unexpectedly last fall, it allowed for increased partnership with Papua New Guinea, supporting strategic objectives and strengthening regional relationships,” noted Sara Muir, a Coast Guard spokeswoman based in Guam.
“A Guam-based Fast Response Cutter crew is planning a patrol in the southwestern Pacific before the end of this year. This patrol intends to build upon the progress made during Oliver Henry’s previous operations, during which they hosted a PNG observer aboard, and ongoing U.S. efforts culminating in the recent signing of the bilateral agreement between our two countries.”
Mihai Sora, an expert on the Pacific Islands with the Australian-based Lowy Institute, told Breaking Defense in an email that there are tensions within PNG about the deal.
“The United States is looking for reliable strategic access to the South Pacific. The recently-signed DCA with Papua New Guinea provides this, but the agreement is yet to be ratified in the PNG Parliament and is not without its detractors,” Sora said.
“The United States will need to calibrate its security engagement with Pacific Island countries judiciously, lest it provoke a similar level of regional pushback that met the then-Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in May 2022 when he tabled a comprehensive regional political and security agreement, which was ultimately rejected by Pacific leaders.”
Sora also noted that “The United States’ recent inking of the security deal with PNG has already had repercussions for Australia’s own defence cooperation negotiations with Papua New Guinea. Some in the PNG community have raised concerns around perceptions that PNG is ceding sovereignty to a foreign state.
“All larger powers will need to invest significantly in socialising such defence cooperation agreements with Pacific communities, and should engage with regional concerns head-on. Transparency and openness are key,” Sora concluded.
A Moratorium On Ships In The Solomons
Following the “moratorium” order from Prime Minister Manasseh Sogovare, the US Coast Guard has not called or resupplied at a Solomon Islands port since August of last year, Muir confirmed. However, the Coast Guard continues to play a major role in the Pacific islands with training on how to patrol and share information, with an eye towards defending sovereign waters from China and its vast fishing fleet.
But it’s a complicated situation. The British ship, HMS Spey, which was not allowed to stop and dock at Honiara at roughly the same time as the Henry, was allowed to dock there in April this year; The Spey helped carry out environmental and hydrographic surveys, as well as water sampling to aid studies on climate change, a release by the Royal Navy said at the time. She also supported the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) to help combat illegal fishing.
As far as the US is concerned, a single warship, the USS Oakland, has docked at Honiara since the Henry was turned away. The Littoral Combat Ship called at the Solomons as part of honors to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, during which US forces captured the island and drove out Japanese forces in a six-month long fight on land and at sea. The USNS Comfort, the famous hospital ship, was allowed to call at Honiara when the Oliver was turned away, but she is clearly a special case.
Asked about access by US Coast Guard vessels to Honiara during a May 30 press conference, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan acknowledged that the Henry and the Spey were not allowed to call at Honiara but dodged a question about asking for permission to resupply in the Solomons.
“You know, we continue to operate throughout throughout the region and seek opportunities for fuel and resupply for our ships, and each country has an opportunity to either approve that or or not, and we will continue to be committed partners in the region,” she said.
Perhaps ironically, Fagan was speaking with reporters from Vietnam, which has had a decade-long relationship with the Coast Guard and recently began sailing a second retired US cutter, the ex-John Midgett, one of the Coast Guard’s last three high-endurance cutters.
Asked for comment on the Solomons situation, Muir, the Coast Guard spokeswoman, pointed to an exercise that occurred immediately after the moratorium was announced — last September’s Pacific Partnership ’22 — which saw US and Solomon Islands ships teamed “to enhance response and coordination capabilities in dealing with natural disasters, oil spills, and search and rescue operations.”
And the Coast Guard did support take part in Operation Tui Moana in May, providing “personnel support” to the Forum Fisheries Agency, Muir said.
A spokesman for the prime minister’s office in the Solomon Islands detailed the specific requirements for foreign naval vessels and aircraft to call at ports in his country. Three experts contacted by Breaking Defense said they had not previously seen these requirements published in public.
“The process begins with the submission of request for entry through a Foreign Mission of the sending country for diplomatic clearance no less than 30 working days for Naval Vessels. For Military aircrafts, request for diplomatic clearance must be submitted no less than14 working days in advance,” the spokesman said in an email. “Requests for naval vessels/ aircrafts entering on Humanitarian or Emergency operations will be considered on real time or on case by case basis based on Mutual Understanding and relevant Agreements.”
Brent Sadler, a naval expert at the Heritage Foundation, told Breaking Defense on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue that “with the security agreements with the Chinese and all of the movement by Sogavare, word on the street is that it would have had a negative appearance to Beijing if that visit had occurred when it would have.”
Sogavare signed a security agreement with the Chinese in mid-April last year that sparked extensive concern among a number of US allies and partners in the region. The US has since stepped up its interest in the Solomons, including opening a US embassy in Honiara on Jan. 27 this year.
Not coincidentally, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a rare mention of the Pacific Islands in his Shangri-La keynote, indicating how much more important the region is now in the American strategic calculus.
“We’re working with our Pacific partners to combat illegal, and unregulated, and unreported fishing through more training and cooperation, such as the US Coast Guard’s Shiprider program. We’re working together to strengthen maritime domain awareness and expand the capacity of our Pacific Island partners. And we recently signed a historic Defense Cooperation Agreement with Papua New Guinea. It will modernize our security cooperation and help us provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the region,” Austin said.
Asked about the Coast Guard’s access to the waters of the Solomon Islands, Muir said they are “supporting our partners in the Pacific to address a wide range of challenges, including natural disasters, the safety of life at sea, and non-traditional security threats such as scarcity of critical resources and environmental degradation.”
