
Originally Posted by
dawg80
Okay, this is one of those "Why is the sky blue?" instances.
In a nutshell, the Solomon Islands issues are internal, political problems. There is a commie faction seeking to link their nation to the Chicoms. It was they, while in power, that unilaterally disregarded western ties in favor of the links to China. The Trump Admin did NOT give them the "cold shoulder" as you say. Trump responded decisively refusing to continue to finance a government that had turned hostile to Taiwan and to the West. The Trump Admin did not cause this, the Solomon Islands' change of allegiance was NOT in response to something (a policy) the Trump Admin did.
Next, and this is extremely important to understand, this is more an Australian matter than a US one. It has been Australia that has had the closest relations with the Solomon Islands. It is the Aussies who have carried the Western Banner of democracy there. If there has been a failure, of any kind, it falls on the Aussies. But, that is not true anyway. Western democracies do not fiddle in the internal political affairs of sovereign nations. The Aussies did not interfere in the elections that brought the commie-leaning faction into power.
Neither the Trump or the Biden Admin is to blame for any of this. The only question is how will the West, led by Australia, respond. Allowing the Chicoms a military foothold in the Solomons is akin to the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960's. Australia has to take the lead, but need the US's support, especially if tensions rise to the brink of military action.
In the bigger picture, the free world must stand against Chicom expansionism. Taiwan is "ground zero" and as such everything revolves around it. How other nations view/treat Taiwan is critical. Under Trump the US built coalitions, Quads, which the Biden Admin has just walked away from. Japan and Australia, with some help from India, has picked up the mantle and is now LEADING the charge. Some of the small countries who have recently switched allegiance to the Chicoms have done so out of fear that, w/o the US, said Quads may not be able to protect them from Chicom aggression. They look at the boob in the WH and say, we can't depend on that clown.
Biden is a weak leader, worse! He loves himself commie nations and will not take a hard stance against his buddies, the Chicoms. Maybe he'll dispatch Hunter to "make some more deals."
All of this is addresses your question, "What am I missing?"