Australian Foreign Minister to Visit Solomons Amid Concerns of Beijing Security Deal

This handout picture released by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on June 2, 2022 shows Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (R) attending a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Samoa Fiame Naomi Mata'afa in Apia. Sarah Friend/Courtesy of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. (D/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s Labor Foreign Minister Penny Wong will visit the Solomon Islands in the coming days amid increasingly strained ties with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare over a contentious security deal with Beijing.

This will be the third trip to the Pacific region by Wong who will also visit New Zealand, following earlier visits to Fiji, as well as Samoa and Tonga.