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<ul class="summary-list"><li>During the first half of 2022, <keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword> has intensified its outreach to Pacific Island nations.</li><li>China's inroads have alarmed the US and its allies in the region, which see Beijing as going for a strategic advantage.</li></ul>In the five months since one of President Joe Biden's top advisers warned that the Pacific was likely where the US could see a "strategic surprise" from China, Beijing has stepped up its overtures to the small but important islands of the region, prompting the US and its allies to scramble in response to growing Chinese influence.Kurt Campbell, the coordinator for <keyword id="12054992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="indo-pacific" source="Orion">Indo-Pacific</keyword> on the National Security Council, told a think-tank audience in January that such a surprise — consisting of "basing or certain kinds of agreements or arrangements" — was a top concern "over the next year or two."That concern was given form in late March with the leak of a draft "<a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaPowles/status/1506845794728837120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">security cooperation</a>" agreement between China and the <keyword id="12279524" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="solomon-islands" source="Orion">Solomon Islands</keyword>, which said the Solomons could ask China to send police and military personnel "to assist in maintaining social order" and that China could, with permission, make "ship visits" and send "relevant forces" to protect Chinese interests — potentially giving China's military a toehold in the South Pacific.<div type="image" title="China navy ship Tonga" height="1080" width="1920" msid="92499546" hostid="261" sizebytes="194614"></div>In the Solomons, the news prompted fear that Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare could call on Chinese forces to repress <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/what-is-behind-unrest-solomon-islands-2021-11-29/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">future protests</a> against his government. Neighboring countries, including <keyword id="11897977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="australia" source="Orion">Australia</keyword>, criticized the deal as a threat to the region's governance and security. US <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3000814/pentagon-press-secretary-john-f-kirby-holds-a-press-briefing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defense</a> and <a href="https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-april-18-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diplomatic</a> officials cautioned that the deal's "broad nature" could lead to deployments of Chinese forces and "set a concerning precedent" for the region.Sogavare, who called the backlash "very insulting," said on April 20 — two days after the Biden administration announced a trip by Campbell and other officials to the region — that he had <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/20/solomon-islands-china-security-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed the deal</a> and done so "guided by our national interests." The final text has not been released but Sogavare and Chinese officials deny it will lead to a Chinese military base.The White House said there had been "substantial discussion" of the deal while US officials were in Honiara and that if there were moves toward a permanent military presence or "power-projection capabilities" in the Solomons the US "would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly."China has security-related agreements with Pacific island countries, largely focused on law enforcement — Australia and <keyword id="11895805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="new-zealand" source="Orion">New Zealand</keyword> have similar relationships — but the deal with the Solomon Islands is seen as broader in scope and as coming at a time of higher geopolitical tension.In the weeks after the Solomons deal was signed, China's outreach appear to intensify, with reports it was pursuing <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e2116b29-e58b-4fa0-8003-d28d18ddf06f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a similar deal</a> with <keyword id="14304181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kiribati" source="Orion">Kiribati</keyword> and its proposal of a sweeping deal with 10 Pacific countries: the Solomons, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, Niue, and the Federated States of Micronesia.<div type="image" title="China Wang Yi Fiji Pacific Islands meeting" height="1078" width="2000" msid="92499547" hostid="261" sizebytes="146520"></div>A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-china-seeks-pacific-islands-policing-security-cooperation-document-2022-05-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">draft of the proposal</a> was circulated prior to a trip to the region by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in late May. It <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wang-yi-beijing-china-new-zealand-96f78c97071116055ebc3e7c216a0ef8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> to "strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of traditional and non traditional security," to expand law-enforcement cooperation, and to cooperate on cyber security and smart technology.Leaders were wary before and after discussing their meetings with Wang.In <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22037013/letter-from-h-e-david-w-panuelo-to-pacific-island-leaders-may-20-2022-signed.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a May 20 letter</a> to 21 regional leaders, Micronesian President David Panuelo called it "the single-most game-changing proposed agreement in the Pacific in any of our lifetimes" and "demonstrative of China's intention to shift Pacific allegiances in their direction.""The Pacific needs genuine partners, not superpowers that are super-focussed on power," Fiji President Frank Bainimarama <a href="https://twitter.com/FijiPM/status/1531180835356803072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on May 30, adding that after an "excellent meeting" with Wang, Fiji sought "stronger Chinese commitment" to trade and environmental issues.The countries ultimately <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-30/pacific-nations-shelve-region-wide-china-deal/101109614" target="_blank" rel="noopener">didn't support</a> China's proposal. The US has cast that as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-asia-united-states-china-bangkok-de635c39e75c3b9f7603cff696421db0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reluctance</a> to engage with Beijing, but Wang <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/timor-leste-signs-four-cooperation-agreements-with-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> other bilateral deals while in the region, and countries there with a strong interest in development assistance <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/samoa-pm-says-pacific-can-deal-with-own-security-issues-2022-06-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still see</a> economic opportunity in China.Leaders appeared "miffed" by Beijing's "abrupt" presentation of a pre-written agreement rather than discussing it first, said Charles Dunst, an expert on Asia at the Center for Strategic and <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">International</keyword> Studies. Opposition to this specific pact doesn't indicate "a wholesale or final rejection of cooperation with China," Dunst told Insider.<h2>Huge challenges and strategic importance</h2><div type="image" title="Solomon Islands map" height="1270" width="2158" msid="92499548" hostid="261" sizebytes="45104"></div>China's Pacific outreach is a years-long effort to build relations and influence in the region, filling a "strategic vacuum" created by "benign neglect" of longstanding security and economic ties by the US, Australia, and New Zealand, Anna Powles, an expert on Pacific security issues at New Zealand's Massey University, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-presence-in-pacific-means-for-taiwan-expert-explains-what-2019-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Insider in October 2019</a>.As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/defense-officials-worried-about-chinese-military-presence-in-latin-america-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in other regions</a>, China seeks access to natural resources, trade, and infrastructure projects, such as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-pacific-island-turns-australia-undersea-cable-after-spurning-china-2021-06-24/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">internet cables</a> and ports and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-plans-to-upgrade-an-airstrip-strategically-located-in-kiribati-2021-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">airfields</a>.China has also sought to expand its diplomatic ties to further isolate Taiwan — in September 2019, both <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-loses-biggest-pacific-ally-as-solomons-embraces-china-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Solomons</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-sees-kiribati-ties-soon-no-word-on-space-tracking-station-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiribati</a> formally recognized Beijing — and to bolster its support in international forums.China also sees strategic value in the <keyword id="14304180" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pacific-islands" source="Orion">Pacific islands</keyword> as "<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-china-want-in-the-pacific-diplomatic-allies-and-strategic-footholds-184147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">footholds</a>" or "<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e2116b29-e58b-4fa0-8003-d28d18ddf06f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">perches</a>" from which to counter the US militarily. In 2018, Australian officials said Beijing had discussed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-vanuatu-military-post-worrying-australia-us-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">establishing a military presence with Vanuatu</a>, and there is concern about the military implications of other Chinese projects, including in <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/chinese-built-airport-next-door-australia-us-funded-navy-port" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Papua New Guinea</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-plans-to-upgrade-an-airstrip-strategically-located-in-kiribati-2021-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiribati</a>.<div type="image" title="China Wang Yi Kiribati Taneti Maamau handshake Beijing" height="1333" width="2000" msid="92499549" hostid="261" sizebytes="95110"></div>The dynamic mirrors the Allied island-hopping campaign of World War II, which sought to roll back the Empire of Japan by recapturing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/growing-chinese-influence-in-guadalcanal-worrying-the-us-and-australia-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strategically located Pacific islands</a>. The historical link was underscored in early May, when the US State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/commemorating-the-80th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-coral-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commemorated</a> the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/battle-of-the-coral-sea-world-war-ii-anniversary-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a clash in the waters</a> between Australia and the Solomons that is seen as a turning point in the war."We've certainly seen sources that show that China is really interested in thinking about the Japanese approach to challenging US dominance of the Pacific," Anne-Marie Brady, a professor and expert in Chinese foreign policy at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, said at <a href="https://www.hoover.org/events/us-needs-step-pacific-facing-chinas-military-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Hoover Institution</a> event in May.Brady said that China's economic growth and military investment since the 1990s have given it the ability to begin countering the US military in the <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-islands-still-matter-asia-15121" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacific island chains</a>, long been seen as defensive lines against the Soviets and now the Chinese.New Zealand said in 2021 that a Chinese base "in the Pacific would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region," Brady said at the May event.Australia's chief of joint operations, Lt. Gen. Greg Bilton, <a href="https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/peter-dutton/transcripts/press-conference-abigail-bradshaw-csc-head-acsc-and-lieutenant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in March that Chinese navy operations in the Solomons would "change the calculus" and prompt Australia's military to change its day-to-day operations, patrolling patterns, and maritime awareness activities.<div type="image" title="Australia HMAS Canberra soldiers Chinook Tonga" height="1344" width="2000" msid="92499550" hostid="261" sizebytes="153450"></div>In addition to providing better awareness of activity in the region, a more consistent Chinese military presence in the Solomons is "bound to have a political effect on the thinking of leaders in those island areas about the importance of maintaining good relations with China," Timothy Heath, a senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, told Insider in April.The US and its allies have mounted a flurry of efforts to counter China's inroads. The US said in February that it would <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-planning-open-embassy-solomon-islands-official-2022-02-12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reopen its embassy</a> in the Solomons, which was closed in the 1990s. Australia's foreign minister has made multiple trips to the region in since taking office in June.US military leaders have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pacific-islands-are-critical-geostrategic-ground-top-commander-says-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly underscored</a> the importance of the Pacific Islands to their operations, particularly has they try to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-studying-different-austere-bases-to-fight-in-pacific-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disperse their forces</a> to counter the growing reach of China's arsenal. The US has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-counter-china-influence-us-names-envoy-lead-pacific-island-talks-2022-03-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped up</a> efforts to renegotiate the Compacts of Free Association, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-looks-to-pacific-islands-for-presence-amid-china-competition-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its unique defense agreements with Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands</a> that expire in 2023 and 2024, holding an in-person <a href="https://twitter.com/CleoPaskal/status/1537591557037010945" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> with the Marshall Islands in mid-June.Time and distance has kept the US Navy from maintaining a significant presence among the Pacific Islands but it is looking to strengthen and expand its ties there, with a particular eye toward logistics support, according to Vice Adm. William Merz, who commanded the Japan-based 7th Fleet from 2019 to 2021."The rising tensions, especially in that region, has certainly created a whole new level of enthusiasm for more and more players to participate with the US, and we're trying to take advantage of that," Merz said at a defense industry conference in February 2022.<div type="image" title="US sailors Tinian harbor" height="1333" width="2000" msid="92499552" hostid="261" sizebytes="392498"></div>US commanders say Pacific islanders are interested in greater collaboration, in part out of concern about China, but the region's leaders also stress a desire to avoid conflict and to focus on pressing issues, specifically the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/76-years-after-wwii-battle-tarawa-marines-still-being-identified-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">existential threat of climate change</a>."In Fiji, we are not threatened by geopolitical competition," Fiji's defense minister said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in June. "In our Blue Pacific continent, machine guns, fighter jets, grey ships, and green battalions are not our primary security concern. The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change."The US appears to be taking "tangible steps" in the region, Dunst said in early June, pointing to a need for more non-military engagement, better alignment with Australia and New Zealand, and to make clear the US's long-term interest in the region outside the context of US-China competition.On June 24, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Japan <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/24/statement-by-australia-japan-new-zealand-the-united-kingdom-and-the-united-states-on-the-establishment-of-the-partners-in-the-blue-pacific-pbp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative to support the region "according to principles of Pacific regionalism, sovereignty, transparency, accountability, and most of all, led and guided by the Pacific Islands."In a speech prior to the announcement, Kurt Campbell underscored the US's historical ties to the Pacific and stressed the importance engaging with and supporting those countries and their region, vowing more high-level US outreach and delivery of "public goods.""There is a general recognition that this is a region of not only moral responsibility and huge challenges — environmental and the like — but it's of strategic importance," Campbell said. "I think it will be important for us to demonstrate that as we go forward."

The US and its allies are scrambling to respond to China's intensifying moves in the heart of the Pacific

<ul class="summary-list"><li>During the first half of 2022, <keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword> has intensified its outreach to Pacific Island nations.</li><li>China's inroads have alarmed the US and its allies in the region, which see Beijing as going for a strategic advantage.</li></ul>In the five months since one of President Joe Biden's top advisers warned that the Pacific was likely where the US could see a "strategic surprise" from China, Beijing has stepped up its overtures to the small but important islands of the region, prompting the US and its allies to scramble in response to growing Chinese influence.Kurt Campbell, the coordinator for <keyword id="12054992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="indo-pacific" source="Orion">Indo-Pacific</keyword> on the National Security Council, told a think-tank audience in January that such a surprise — consisting of "basing or certain kinds of agreements or arrangements" — was a top concern "over the next year or two."That concern was given form in late March with the leak of a draft "<a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaPowles/status/1506845794728837120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">security cooperation</a>" agreement between China and the <keyword id="12279524" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="solomon-islands" source="Orion">Solomon Islands</keyword>, which said the Solomons could ask China to send police and military personnel "to assist in maintaining social order" and that China could, with permission, make "ship visits" and send "relevant forces" to protect Chinese interests — potentially giving China's military a toehold in the South Pacific.<div type="image" title="China navy ship Tonga" height="1080" width="1920" msid="92501094" hostid="261" sizebytes="194614"></div>In the Solomons, the news prompted fear that Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare could call on Chinese forces to repress <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/what-is-behind-unrest-solomon-islands-2021-11-29/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">future protests</a> against his government. Neighboring countries, including <keyword id="11897977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="australia" source="Orion">Australia</keyword>, criticized the deal as a threat to the region's governance and security. US <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3000814/pentagon-press-secretary-john-f-kirby-holds-a-press-briefing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defense</a> and <a href="https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-april-18-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diplomatic</a> officials cautioned that the deal's "broad nature" could lead to deployments of Chinese forces and "set a concerning precedent" for the region.Sogavare, who called the backlash "very insulting," said on April 20 — two days after the Biden administration announced a trip by Campbell and other officials to the region — that he had <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/20/solomon-islands-china-security-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed the deal</a> and done so "guided by our national interests." The final text has not been released but Sogavare and Chinese officials deny it will lead to a Chinese military base.The White House said there had been "substantial discussion" of the deal while US officials were in Honiara and that if there were moves toward a permanent military presence or "power-projection capabilities" in the Solomons the US "would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly."China has security-related agreements with Pacific island countries, largely focused on law enforcement — Australia and <keyword id="11895805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="new-zealand" source="Orion">New Zealand</keyword> have similar relationships — but the deal with the Solomon Islands is seen as broader in scope and as coming at a time of higher geopolitical tension.In the weeks after the Solomons deal was signed, China's outreach appear to intensify, with reports it was pursuing <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e2116b29-e58b-4fa0-8003-d28d18ddf06f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a similar deal</a> with <keyword id="14304181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kiribati" source="Orion">Kiribati</keyword> and its proposal of a sweeping deal with 10 Pacific countries: the Solomons, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, Niue, and the Federated States of Micronesia.<div type="image" title="China Wang Yi Fiji Pacific Islands meeting" height="1078" width="2000" msid="92501096" hostid="261" sizebytes="146520"></div>A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-china-seeks-pacific-islands-policing-security-cooperation-document-2022-05-25/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">draft of the proposal</a> was circulated prior to a trip to the region by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in late May. It <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wang-yi-beijing-china-new-zealand-96f78c97071116055ebc3e7c216a0ef8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> to "strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of traditional and non traditional security," to expand law-enforcement cooperation, and to cooperate on cyber security and smart technology.Leaders were wary before and after discussing their meetings with Wang.In <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22037013/letter-from-h-e-david-w-panuelo-to-pacific-island-leaders-may-20-2022-signed.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a May 20 letter</a> to 21 regional leaders, Micronesian President David Panuelo called it "the single-most game-changing proposed agreement in the Pacific in any of our lifetimes" and "demonstrative of China's intention to shift Pacific allegiances in their direction.""The Pacific needs genuine partners, not superpowers that are super-focussed on power," Fiji President Frank Bainimarama <a href="https://twitter.com/FijiPM/status/1531180835356803072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on May 30, adding that after an "excellent meeting" with Wang, Fiji sought "stronger Chinese commitment" to trade and environmental issues.The countries ultimately <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-30/pacific-nations-shelve-region-wide-china-deal/101109614" target="_blank" rel="noopener">didn't support</a> China's proposal. The US has cast that as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-asia-united-states-china-bangkok-de635c39e75c3b9f7603cff696421db0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reluctance</a> to engage with Beijing, but Wang <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/06/timor-leste-signs-four-cooperation-agreements-with-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> other bilateral deals while in the region, and countries there with a strong interest in development assistance <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/samoa-pm-says-pacific-can-deal-with-own-security-issues-2022-06-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still see</a> economic opportunity in China.Leaders appeared "miffed" by Beijing's "abrupt" presentation of a pre-written agreement rather than discussing it first, said Charles Dunst, an expert on Asia at the Center for Strategic and <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">International</keyword> Studies. Opposition to this specific pact doesn't indicate "a wholesale or final rejection of cooperation with China," Dunst told Insider.<h2>Huge challenges and strategic importance</h2><div type="image" title="Solomon Islands map" height="1270" width="2158" msid="92501098" hostid="261" sizebytes="45104"></div>China's Pacific outreach is a years-long effort to build relations and influence in the region, filling a "strategic vacuum" created by "benign neglect" of longstanding security and economic ties by the US, Australia, and New Zealand, Anna Powles, an expert on Pacific security issues at New Zealand's Massey University, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-presence-in-pacific-means-for-taiwan-expert-explains-what-2019-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Insider in October 2019</a>.As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/defense-officials-worried-about-chinese-military-presence-in-latin-america-2022-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in other regions</a>, China seeks access to natural resources, trade, and infrastructure projects, such as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-pacific-island-turns-australia-undersea-cable-after-spurning-china-2021-06-24/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">internet cables</a> and ports and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-plans-to-upgrade-an-airstrip-strategically-located-in-kiribati-2021-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">airfields</a>.China has also sought to expand its diplomatic ties to further isolate Taiwan — in September 2019, both <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-loses-biggest-pacific-ally-as-solomons-embraces-china-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Solomons</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-sees-kiribati-ties-soon-no-word-on-space-tracking-station-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiribati</a> formally recognized Beijing — and to bolster its support in international forums.China also sees strategic value in the <keyword id="14304180" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pacific-islands" source="Orion">Pacific islands</keyword> as "<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-china-want-in-the-pacific-diplomatic-allies-and-strategic-footholds-184147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">footholds</a>" or "<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e2116b29-e58b-4fa0-8003-d28d18ddf06f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">perches</a>" from which to counter the US militarily. In 2018, Australian officials said Beijing had discussed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-vanuatu-military-post-worrying-australia-us-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">establishing a military presence with Vanuatu</a>, and there is concern about the military implications of other Chinese projects, including in <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/chinese-built-airport-next-door-australia-us-funded-navy-port" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Papua New Guinea</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-plans-to-upgrade-an-airstrip-strategically-located-in-kiribati-2021-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kiribati</a>.<div type="image" title="China Wang Yi Kiribati Taneti Maamau handshake Beijing" height="1333" width="2000" msid="92501099" hostid="261" sizebytes="95110"></div>The dynamic mirrors the Allied island-hopping campaign of World War II, which sought to roll back the Empire of Japan by recapturing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/growing-chinese-influence-in-guadalcanal-worrying-the-us-and-australia-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strategically located Pacific islands</a>. The historical link was underscored in early May, when the US State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/commemorating-the-80th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-coral-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commemorated</a> the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/battle-of-the-coral-sea-world-war-ii-anniversary-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a clash in the waters</a> between Australia and the Solomons that is seen as a turning point in the war."We've certainly seen sources that show that China is really interested in thinking about the Japanese approach to challenging US dominance of the Pacific," Anne-Marie Brady, a professor and expert in Chinese foreign policy at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, said at <a href="https://www.hoover.org/events/us-needs-step-pacific-facing-chinas-military-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Hoover Institution</a> event in May.Brady said that China's economic growth and military investment since the 1990s have given it the ability to begin countering the US military in the <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-islands-still-matter-asia-15121" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacific island chains</a>, long been seen as defensive lines against the Soviets and now the Chinese.New Zealand said in 2021 that a Chinese base "in the Pacific would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region," Brady said at the May event.Australia's chief of joint operations, Lt. Gen. Greg Bilton, <a href="https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/peter-dutton/transcripts/press-conference-abigail-bradshaw-csc-head-acsc-and-lieutenant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in March that Chinese navy operations in the Solomons would "change the calculus" and prompt Australia's military to change its day-to-day operations, patrolling patterns, and maritime awareness activities.<div type="image" title="Australia HMAS Canberra soldiers Chinook Tonga" height="1344" width="2000" msid="92501101" hostid="261" sizebytes="153450"></div>In addition to providing better awareness of activity in the region, a more consistent Chinese military presence in the Solomons is "bound to have a political effect on the thinking of leaders in those island areas about the importance of maintaining good relations with China," Timothy Heath, a senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, told Insider in April.The US and its allies have mounted a flurry of efforts to counter China's inroads. The US said in February that it would <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-planning-open-embassy-solomon-islands-official-2022-02-12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reopen its embassy</a> in the Solomons, which was closed in the 1990s. Australia's foreign minister has made multiple trips to the region in since taking office in June.US military leaders have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pacific-islands-are-critical-geostrategic-ground-top-commander-says-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly underscored</a> the importance of the Pacific Islands to their operations, particularly has they try to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-studying-different-austere-bases-to-fight-in-pacific-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disperse their forces</a> to counter the growing reach of China's arsenal. The US has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-counter-china-influence-us-names-envoy-lead-pacific-island-talks-2022-03-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped up</a> efforts to renegotiate the Compacts of Free Association, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-looks-to-pacific-islands-for-presence-amid-china-competition-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its unique defense agreements with Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands</a> that expire in 2023 and 2024, holding an in-person <a href="https://twitter.com/CleoPaskal/status/1537591557037010945" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> with the Marshall Islands in mid-June.Time and distance has kept the US Navy from maintaining a significant presence among the Pacific Islands but it is looking to strengthen and expand its ties there, with a particular eye toward logistics support, according to Vice Adm. William Merz, who commanded the Japan-based 7th Fleet from 2019 to 2021."The rising tensions, especially in that region, has certainly created a whole new level of enthusiasm for more and more players to participate with the US, and we're trying to take advantage of that," Merz said at a defense industry conference in February 2022.<div type="image" title="US sailors Tinian harbor" height="1333" width="2000" msid="92501103" hostid="261" sizebytes="392498"></div>US commanders say Pacific islanders are interested in greater collaboration, in part out of concern about China, but the region's leaders also stress a desire to avoid conflict and to focus on pressing issues, specifically the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/76-years-after-wwii-battle-tarawa-marines-still-being-identified-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">existential threat of climate change</a>."In Fiji, we are not threatened by geopolitical competition," Fiji's defense minister said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in June. "In our Blue Pacific continent, machine guns, fighter jets, grey ships, and green battalions are not our primary security concern. The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change."The US appears to be taking "tangible steps" in the region, Dunst said in early June, pointing to a need for more non-military engagement, better alignment with Australia and New Zealand, and to make clear the US's long-term interest in the region outside the context of US-China competition.On June 24, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Japan <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/24/statement-by-australia-japan-new-zealand-the-united-kingdom-and-the-united-states-on-the-establishment-of-the-partners-in-the-blue-pacific-pbp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative to support the region "according to principles of Pacific regionalism, sovereignty, transparency, accountability, and most of all, led and guided by the Pacific Islands."In a speech prior to the announcement, Kurt Campbell underscored the US's historical ties to the Pacific and stressed the importance engaging with and supporting those countries and their region, vowing more high-level US outreach and delivery of "public goods.""There is a general recognition that this is a region of not only moral responsibility and huge challenges — environmental and the like — but it's of strategic importance," Campbell said. "I think it will be important for us to demonstrate that as we go forward."

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6361649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Goldman-Sachs">Goldman Sachs</keyword> CEO <keyword id="691526" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="David-Solomon">David Solomon</keyword> has released a new single, with proceeds going to charity. </li><li>The single comes days before the company's expected return to the office.</li><li>The bank chief, who sometimes uses the name "DJ D-Sol," posted the song on<a href="https://www.instagram.com/davidsolomonmusic/?hl=en"> his Instagram account</a>.</li></ul>David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, dropped a new single as part of his dance-music side project. The bank chief, who has been known to spin tunes under the name "DJ D-Sol," posted the song on<a href="https://www.instagram.com/davidsolomonmusic/?hl=en"> his Instagram account on Friday</a>. It comes as employees prepare to return to the office <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-return-to-office-back-june-memo-reopening-employees-2021-5">on June 14</a>. Sources told <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/10/goldman-ceo-david-solomon-to-drop-single-on-eve-of-return-to-work-plan/">the New York Post that</a> Soloman may be trying to send employees an underhand message with the title of the song: "Learn to Love Me." A Goldman spokesperson <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/10/goldman-ceo-david-solomon-to-drop-single-on-eve-of-return-to-work-plan/">told the outlet: </a>"David enjoys producing music, and he is dedicated to giving back. All proceeds from his releases go to benefit charity, specifically those committed to the battle against addiction and those in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic."In February, Solomon made clear that he wanted staff back in the office, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-ceo-david-solomon-wants-people-back-in-office-2021-2">Insider's Reed Alexander reported</a>. "This is not a new normal," Solomon said.The company has come under fire in recent months after a <a href="https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rSEzNw9cve9E/v0">leaked survey </a>exposed conditions that were described as "inhumane." In the survey, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-junior-bankers-inhumane-working-conditions-survey-2021-3">13 first-year analysts</a> in the US described declining health, 100-hour work weeks, and a lack of sleep. Bosses at Goldman sent <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-junior-bankers-snack-fruit-hampers-100-hours-peloton-2021-3">snack boxes</a> to London bankers in response to the survey. One employee told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/mar/22/goldman-sachs-boss-responds-to-leaked-report-into-inhumane-working-hours">The Guardian</a> that the bank should be doing more for the junior bankers who have to work grueling hours, however.Insider's Anna Cooban and Kate Duffy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-office-us-staff-report-covid-vaccination-status-2021-6">recently reported</a> that the investment bank was seeking to know how many employees have been vaccinated, per a memo first viewed by The New York Times' <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/business/dealbook/consumer-price-index-inflation.html">Dealbook newsletter. </a>The bank gave staff a deadline of 12 p.m. Thursday to report their vaccination status.The bank has made it mandatory for staff to submit their vaccination status on an app. According to the Times, it said it "strongly encourages" getting vaccinated, but said the choice "is a personal one."

Goldman CEO David Solomon releases charity single called 'Learn to Love Me' as part of his electronic-dance side project

The <keyword id="2219970" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Book-Night">World Book Night</keyword> (now in its fourth year and coincides with the <keyword id="2219971" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="UNESCO-International-Day-of-the-Book">UNESCO International Day of the Book</keyword>) came and went, but did it impact our life in any way? In the UK, 20 titles were selected and thousands of those <keyword id="5050" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="books">books</keyword> were given away for free on the night of <keyword id="6460904" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="April-23">April 23</keyword> to inspire people who “haven’t yet been turned on” to reading. A quick look at the list had us pleasantly surprised. It included the works of <keyword id="210859" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Agatha-Christie">Agatha Christie</keyword>, <keyword id="17397" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jeffrey-archer">Jeffrey Archer</keyword>, <keyword id="324611" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="John-Grisham">John Grisham</keyword>, <keyword id="241349" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Roald-Dahl">Roald Dahl</keyword>, <keyword id="1367712" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Andy-McNab">Andy McNab</keyword> and others – mostly popular stuff that may actually drive reluctant readers back to the age-old habit of reading. 
 And that brings another startling fact to the forefront. If reading less is a global malady, men could be suffering more from it than their female counterparts. No, we are not getting gender-biased here. The findings came from a survey commissioned by the <keyword id="2219978" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reading-Agency">Reading Agency</keyword> and conducted by <keyword id="2219982" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="OnePoll">OnePoll</keyword>. According to the report, researchers from OnePoll spoke to 2,000 British men and <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> ahead of the World Book Night and it was found that 75% of the men would watch the big screen version of a story, instead of reading the original book. In fact, 30% of the men said they had not read a book after their school days. 
 But in spite of all the statistics, reading does change one’s life. They say everyone can write at least one classic – their own life story. Surprisingly enough, we have one such book in our April list – the <keyword id="2219985" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Posthumous-collection">posthumous collection</keyword> of <keyword id="642178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Essays">essays</keyword> and <keyword id="851600" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="short-stories">short stories</keyword> by a young <keyword id="2219988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yale-graduate">Yale graduate</keyword> that has gone viral and read by at least 1.4 million people across 98 countries. That gives us great hope that books (in any format) will never become obsolete. Browse through our list of seven wonder works – analytical, inspirational, <keyword id="820033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="sublime">sublime</keyword>, but essentially a <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword> towards a changing world order, a look into the changing times. 
 
Image: Thinkstock/Getty Images

April Read: Try These
7 Books To Usher In A Summer Of Change

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Brittney Griner's lawyers have appealed the WNBA superstar's 9-year Russian prison sentence.</li><li>Griner was <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-guilty-sentence-9-years-russian-prison-drug-smuggling-trial-2022-8">convicted of drug smuggling</a>, but the US government maintains <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-russia-what-status-change-wrongfully-detained-means-2022-5">she's wrongfully detained</a>.</li></ul>Brittney Griner and her attorneys have appealed her nine-year Russian prison sentence.The WNBA superstar, who was detained in February when customs agents at a Moscow airport said they found cannabis oil in her luggage, was found guilty of drug smuggling with criminal intent and issued a near-maximum sentence in early August. Now, her defense team has appealed the verdict due to violations throughout her trial.<div type="image" title="Brittney Griner" height="3227" width="4840" msid="93578245" hostid="261" sizebytes="316582"></div>Aleksandr Boikov, one of the lawyers representing Griner, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/world/europe/brittney-griner-appeals-conviction.html">The New York Times</a> that the judge who heard the star's case ignored "serious procedural violations during detention, extraction of physical evidence, arrest, and investigation." The resulting verdict, he said, did "not correspond to the current legal practice of Russian courts."Griner's legal team had highlighted such violations in court testimony during the initial trial, but Judge Anna Sotnikova still handed down a sentence Boikov described to the Times as "unprecedentedly harsh." One legal expert told Insider that the appeal is very unlikely to help expedite the two-time Olympic gold medalist's return to the United States."[Griner's attorneys] can argue what they like, but there weren't procedural violations — at least according to the judge," Aron Solomon, the chief legal analyst for Esquire Digital, said. "In Russia, that's all that will matter."<div type="image" title="Brittney Griner." height="1875" width="2500" msid="93578247" hostid="261" sizebytes="207550"></div>Still, Solomon explained that "appealing to Judge Sotnikova is something that Griner's counsel should do as a matter of course.""While it makes sense procedurally, the judge already acknowledged that she took into account Griner's admission of wrongdoing, remorse, and what she has accomplished in Russia as an athlete and person," he added. "So will this change anything? No."Neither Russia's greater than 99% conviction rate nor the judicial system's ability to overturn acquittals helps matters for Griner, either. But the legal move does allow the eight-time WNBA All-Star to avoid relocating to a more remote, and far harsher, penal colony — at least for the time being.<div type="image" title="Brittney Griner." height="1667" width="2500" msid="93578248" hostid="261" sizebytes="121162"></div>Griner will remain at a Russian prison just outside Moscow for the duration of her appeals process, which her lawyers estimate will take roughly three months to complete. In the interim, the 6-foot-9 center and her supporters hope that the American star — whom the <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-russia-what-status-change-wrongfully-detained-means-2022-5">US government considers "wrongfully detained"</a> — will come home via <a href="https://www.insider.com/biden-offers-arms-trafficker-brittney-griner-potential-exchange-russia-2022-7">a prisoner swap with Russia</a>.Though rumors of Moscow exchanging Griner and fellow detained American Paul Whelan for convicted Russian <a href="https://www.insider.com/viktor-bout-convicted-arms-dealer-russian-prison-swap-brittney-griner-2022-8">arms dealer Viktor Bout</a> have been swirling for several months, the US did not officially extend any offers to the Russian government until June. The Kremlin <a href="https://www.insider.com/kremlin-ready-to-discuss-prisoner-swap-brittney-griner-sentencing-2022-8">neglected to formally respond</a> before Griner's trial concluded and called on the Americans to <a href="https://www.insider.com/Russia-griner-whelan-prisoner-swap-talks-us-discreet-2022-8">keep negotiations "discreet."</a> Discussions between the global superpowers — whose conflict over Ukraine only complicates matters — are reportedly still ongoing. Griner is entering her seventh month in Russian custody.

Brittney Griner appealed her 9-year Russian prison sentence, but the move is unlikely to free the WNBA star

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="253163" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sears">Sears</keyword> and <keyword id="554530" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kmart">Kmart</keyword> are closing at least 13 locations, according to local news reports. </li><li>The closing stores are in California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.</li><li>Transformco, the company that owns Sears and Kmart stores, declined to comment on the list of closings.</li></ul>Sears and Kmart are planning to permanently close several stores, according to local news reports. The locations reported to be closing include Sears department stores in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas, as well as Kmart stores in California, North Dakota, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.Transformco, the company that owns Sears and Kmart stores, declined to comment on the list of closings. <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">Retail</keyword> Dive earlier <a href="https://www.retaildive.com/news/more-kmart-sears-stores-to-close/580531/">reported</a> on many of the closings, citing local news outlets. Seritage Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust that owns dozens of Sears and Kmart stores, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1628063/000156459020028426/srg-ex101_28.htm">said</a> in June that it planned to terminate the leases on 12 stores.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/sears">Sears</a> was once the world's largest retailer with more than 3,500 US stores under its Sears and Kmart banners. Over the last 10 years, the retailer has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sears-failing-stores-closing-edward-lampert-bankruptcy-chances-2017-1">closed</a> more than 3,300 locations Here's the list of Sears and Kmart closings, as reported by local news outlets. Sears<ul><li>22100 Hawthorne Blvd., <a href="https://www.dailybreeze.com/torrance-sears-at-del-amo-fashion-center-to-shut-after-61-years">Torrance</a>, California</li><li>7503 W. Cermak Road, <a href="https://www.vfpress.news/articles/business/sears-at-north-riverside-mall-to-close-for-good/">North Riverside,</a> Illinois</li><li>301 Mt. Hope Ave., <a href="https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/morris/news/sears-to-shutter-rockaway-townsquare-mall-location-closing-jobs-available/790093/">Rockaway</a>, New Jersey</li><li>5000 Great Northern Mall, <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/06/great-northern-sears-the-last-sears-in-ohio-is-closing-for-good.html">North Olmstead</a>, Ohio</li><li>5300 San Dario Ave., <a href="https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/Laredo-Sears-appears-to-be-closing-store-in-Mall-15304300.php">Laredo</a>, Texas</li><li>4000 N. Shepherd Drive, <a href="https://theleadernews.com/longstanding-sears-store-on-shepherd-set-to-close/">Houston</a>, Texas</li></ul> Kmart<ul><li>1500 Anna Sparks Way, <a href="https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2020/06/13/mckinleyville-kmart-closing">McKinleyville</a>, California</li><li>3255 Solomons Island Road, <a href="https://www.eyeonannapolis.net/2020/06/edgewater-kmart-to-shutter-for-good-on-august-30th/">Edgewater</a>, Maryland</li><li>10 W. Lake St., <a href="https://www.startribune.com/unrest-after-george-floyd-s-death-means-a-premature-close-for-kmart/571055262/">Minneapolis</a>, Minnesota</li><li>NH-12A, <a href="https://www.vnews.com/West-Lebanon-Kmart-appears-poised-to-close-34530625">West Lebanon</a>, New Hampshire</li><li>1 20th Ave. SE, <a href="https://www.minotdailynews.com/life/business/2020/05/minots-kmart-store-scheduled-to-close-july-17/">Minot</a>, North Dakota</li><li>400 N. Best Ave., <a href="https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/northampton-county/2020/06/is-the-lehigh-valleys-last-kmart-closing-for-good-heres-what-we-know.html">Walnutport</a>, Pennsylvania </li><li>3975 Columbia Ave, <a href="https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/kmart-near-columbia-to-close-this-summer-leaving-only-1-kmart-in-lancaster-county/article_6ae53aaa-af48-11ea-8ece-a7793b903a8a.html">Columbia,</a> Pennsylvania</li></ul>

Sears and Kmart are reportedly closing more stores. Here's the list of addresses.

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Xihao JiangUS sailors in front of US and Chinese flags as the Navy destroyer USS Stethem arrives in Shanghai for an official visit, November 16, 2015.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Taiwan, which China considers to be a renegade territory, lost two of its few remaining allies in late September.</li><li>China has sought to win over Taiwan's allies, but those countries have their own reasons to embrace Beijing.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>On December 1, 2016, 22 countries had full diplomatic relations with Taiwan, an island nation seen as a breakaway province by its larger neighbor, China.On December 2 that year, President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen had what was thought to be the first phone call between a Taiwanese leader and a US president or president-elect since the US severed ties with Taiwan and recognized China in 1979.For China, after that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-influence-over-taiwan-in-latin-america-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the gloves came off</a>.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-loses-biggest-pacific-ally-as-solomons-embraces-china-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taiwan just lost its biggest ally in the Pacific to China, and the US may retaliate</a>On December 21, 2016, São Tome and Principe, an island country in West Africa, recognized China, as did Panama in 2017. El Salvador and the Dominican Republic followed in 2018. And in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-sees-kiribati-ties-soon-no-word-on-space-tracking-station-2019-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a four-day period</a> in September this year, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, both Pacific Island countries, left Taiwan behind.Now just 15 countries, five of them small Pacific islands, have full diplomatic relations with Taipei, compared to 180 that recognize Beijing.In an email interview, <a href="https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/expertise/profile.cfm?stref=287250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Anna Powles</a>, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at New Zealand's Massey University and an expert on security issues in the Pacific, explained why countries are embracing Beijing, how the US and others have responded, and why some in the region aren't won over by those responses.

China is filling a 'strategic vacuum' in the Pacific left by the US and its allies, and that's bad news for Taiwan

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCI44DVRAO&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1594&amp;RH=943&amp;RW=1594&amp;RH=943#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCI44DVRAO&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1594&amp;RH=943&amp;POPUPPN=5&amp;POPUPIID=2C040800AD67L">REUTERS/Danny Moloshok</a>David Solomon anointed a new class of partners today.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gs-stock">Goldman Sachs</a> named 69 people to partner today in what is a biannual exercise. </li><li>This year's class was more diverse than in the past, made up of 26% women, the highest ever. </li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gs-stock">Goldman Sachs</a> has selected its latest class of partners, bestowing 69 individuals with what is one of the most sought after titles on Wall Street. This year's class was 26% women. The sales and trading division, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-fixed-income-changes-2018-10">which has been struggling to adapt to post-crisis rule changes,</a> got 28 new partners. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-new-top-leadership-at-goldman-sachs-2018-9">Investment banking, the former home of CEO David Solomon,</a> received 21. Goldman watchers typically examine the percentage of new partners to come from each division as a way of divining how management is thinking about the future direction of business strategy. Without further ado, here's the list of the partners:<ul><li>Philip Aldis, Securities, London</li><li>Margaret Chinwe Anadu, Securities, New York</li><li>Anthony Arnold, Merchant Banking Division, New York</li><li>Jacqueline Arthur, Consumer and Investment Management Division, New York</li><li>Farshid Asl, Consumer and Investment Management Division, New York</li><li>Yibo Bao, Securities, London</li><li>David Bicarregui, Finance, London</li><li>Beat Cabiallavetta, Securities, London</li><li>Niharika Cabiallavetta, Securities, London</li><li>Greg Calnon, Consumer and Investment Management Division, New York</li><li>Katrien Carbonez, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Michael Casey, Investment Banking Division, Houston</li><li>Nikhil Choraria, Securities, London</li><li>Colin Convey, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Anthony Dewell, Securities, New York</li><li>Arun Dhar, Securities, London</li><li>Sean Fan, Merchant Banking Division, Beijing</li><li>Jeffrey Fine, Merchant Banking Division, New York</li><li>Brian Friedman, Securities, New York</li><li>Daniel Friedman, Securities, London</li><li>Antonio Gatti, Investment Banking Division, London</li><li>Jamie Goodman, Securities, Hong Kong</li><li>John Greenwood, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>David Gribble, Securities, Sydney</li><li>Magnus Hardeberg, Investment Banking Division, Stockholm</li><li>Boe Hartman, Technology, New York</li><li>Earl Hunt, Securities, New York</li><li>Nell Hutton, Securities, Sydney</li><li>Tanweer Kabir, Securities, Hong Kong</li><li>Zaid Khaldi, Investment Banking Division, London</li><li>Tobias Koester, Investment Banking Division, Frankfurt</li><li>Thomas Leake, Securities, London</li><li>Rick Li, Securities, New York</li><li>Zheng Li, Investment Banking Division, Hong Kong</li><li>Thomas Malafronte, Securities, New York</li><li>Lisa Mantil, Securities, New York</li><li>Shogo Matsuzawa, Investment Banking Division, Tokyo</li><li>Heather Kennedy Miner, Executive Office, New York</li><li>Igor Modlin, Securities, New York</li><li>Steven Moffitt, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Eric Murciano, Securities, London</li><li>Craig Murray, Investment Banking Division, Sydney</li><li>Eric Neveux, Investment Banking Division, Chicago</li><li>Barry O'Brien, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Daniel Oneglia, Securities, New York</li><li>Andy Ozment, Technology, New York</li><li>Andrew Philipp, Risk, New York</li><li>Asahi Pompey, Compliance, New York</li><li>Stephanie Rader, Securities, New York</li><li>Radovan Radman, Securities, London</li><li>Akila Raman, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Tom Riggs, Legal, New York </li><li>Philip Salem, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Laurie Schmidt, Merchant Banking Division, New York</li><li>Jameson Schriber, Securities, New York</li><li>Anshul Sehgal, Securities, New York</li><li>James Sinclair, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Amit Sinha, Investment Banking Division, San Francisco</li><li>Anna Skoglund, Investment Banking Division, London</li><li>Stephanie Smith, Operations, Hong Kong</li><li>Richard Spencer, Merchant Banking Division, London</li><li>David Stark, Consumer and Investment Management Division, New York</li><li>Sinead Strain, Technology, New York</li><li>Michele Titi-Cappelli, Merchant Banking Division, London</li><li>Philippa Vizzone, Global Investment Research, Hong Kong</li><li>Ward Waltemath, Investment Banking Division, San Francisco</li><li>Miriam Wheeler, Investment Banking Division, New York</li><li>Rana Yared, Securities, New York</li><li>Mikhail Zlotnik, Securities, London</li></ul> <h2>See also:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-fixed-income-changes-2018-10">Goldman Sachs's bond trading unit is still trying to find its way - and it represents a key challenge for new CEO David Solomon</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-new-top-leadership-at-goldman-sachs-2018-9">Goldman Sachs just announced a shakeup of its leadership - and it signals the rise of bankers over traders</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-changes-how-it-selects-partners-2018-9">Goldman Sachs is shaking up the way it stocks one of the most elite clubs on Wall Street - and it shows how banks are back to making money again</a></li></ul>Get the latest Goldman Sachs stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GS-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retractable-apartment-2018-10">We toured a $3.6M retractable apartment in NYC - here's what it's like inside</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "Anna Solomon" and got 10 results

The US and its allies are scrambling to respond to China's intensifying moves in the heart of the Pacific

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