US betrays its disdain for sovereignty

In an obvious show of displeasure with the Solomon Islands leadership's decision to switch diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing, US Vice-President Mike Pence has reportedly canceled his planned meeting with the Pacific island country's prime minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York - or later in Washington.

The cancellation of the meeting, originally planned to discuss development partnerships, is just one of the "consequences" the Solomon Islands has to face for the switch, a US official was quoted by Reuters as saying.

To even suggest a country has to pay a price, no matter how heavy or small, for choosing a diplomatic partner is malfeasance. To actually punish a country for doing so is violation of its sovereignty. And the Solomon Islands is no puppet state, whose strings the United States can pull at will. As an independent, sovereign state, it has as much right as any other country, big or small, to decide what best serves its national interests and make its own diplomatic decisions.