![Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is furious that prominent provincial leader Daniel Suidani, has gone to Taiwan for urgent treatment on a brain tumour underscoring tension over the 2019 decision to formally recognise Beijing [File: Thomas Peter/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2019-10-09T022549Z_1473597141_RC13C2F21EC0_RTRMADP_3_CHINA-SOLOMONISLANDS.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Tensions are mounting after a prominent opponent of the country’s ‘One China’ policy was flown to Taiwan for treatment.
Solomon Islands
![Geographical isolation has helped protect the Pacific Islands from the coronavirus, and governments also closed borders to keep visitors out, recognising the risk the disease poses to their communities [File: Fazry Ismail/EPA]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/6a57014c8e0b4fc89c1ac4288cd8c2cf_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
People in the island nations have some of world’s highest rates of diabetes and obesity, and health systems are weak.
![Solomons Prime Minister Sogavare has terminated the deal between the Central Province and the state-owned China Sam Group [File: Mark Schiefelbein/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8da5e08817b347e18812ffda9e0bf060_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Deal to lease entire Tulagi island was signed a day after China and the Solomons officially established diplomatic ties.
![Jeremiah Manele, left, and Wang Yi, right, signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties [Naohiko Hatta/Pool via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2c3a694dc403401e8643fb947a02bb4e_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Move comes days after Solomon Islands broke ties with Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
![The meeting between Pence and Sogavare was to have taken place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, or afterwards in Washington, DC [File: Jim Lo Scalzo/Mick Tsikas/EPA]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/06b44eefd4bf4edda115f8becb5c05cf_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
US vice president scraps meeting with Solomons’s Manasseh Sogavare after he cut ties with Taiwan in favour of China.
![Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen accused China of 'dollar diplomacy' after the Solomon Islands decided to establish diplomatic relations with China instead of Taiwan [File: Taiwan Presidential Office via AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/b55d12397b9c4b72b2b69a6a25ecfe9d_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Solomon Islands sixth country to cut ties with Taiwan since 2016 election of Tsai Ing-wen, as China raises pressure.
![The Solomon Islands, one of Taiwan's long-standing Pacific allies, has said it will switch diplomatic allegiance to China [David Chang/EPA]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/7bf37ba2d33e4f1c9afdd71f70e769d8_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
China offering more economic aid to Solomon Islands in exchange for switching diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing.
![A worker climbs into a truck delivering timber at a wood processing plant in China [File: Thomas Peter/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/0ee61894626448dd97be1bffc4e087f3_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Global Witness investigation finds forests being felled at 19 times the sustainable rate; vast network of logging roads.
![In April last year, floods hit the Solomon Islands, killing 14 people and leaving thousands homeless [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/6b9b2b6d941343acbf7b762415b649e5_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Quake with 6.9 magnitude hits near the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, prompting warning.
A 6.9-magnitude quake has hit islands in the Pacific, but no tsunami warning was issued and no major damage is expected.
At least eight people are confirmed dead after Category 5 storm Pam smashes the small Pacific island nation.
![The Solomons has seen plant disease outbreaks, floods, and rising sea levels [Dana MacLean/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/201492375424485734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Solomon Islands has seen temperatures surge, and female farmers are struggling to provide food for families.
There are concerns over an outbreak of disease following floods that have left at least 21 people dead.
![Aid groups fear that a lack of sanitation and fresh water will lead to an outbreak of dengue fever [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/20144573029244580_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
At least 16 people have died in the flooding, another 40 are missing, and tens of thousands have become homeless.