SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will visit the Solomon Islands next week, two sources familiar with the plans said on Monday, as Western nations seek to rein in China's influence on the tiny Pacific island. With the United States and its allies keen to ensure China does not increase its foothold in the Pacific, protecting diplomatic recognition for self-ruled Taiwan has emerged as a flashpoint in regional ties. "China is the Solomon Islands' largest trading partner and this is adding a lot of pressure on lawmakers to switch allegiances," said Jonathan Pryke, Pacific Islands program director at the think-tank, the Lowy Institute. The Solomon Islands is one of a handful of Pacific countries to recognize Taiwan, a policy now in question after recent elections. China views Taiwan as a renegade province with no right to state-to-state ties. On Friday, a senior US official said Washington would help Pacific countries in the face of China's attempts to influence them. Those remarks threaten to inflame tension between the US and China already heated by their trade war, US sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea. Morrison's first overseas trip since winning re-election this month will also be the first time an Australian prime minister has visited the Solomon Islands since 2008. — Reuters
