October 25, 2019
Release

Statement by Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper on Chinese Effort to Lease the Island of Tulagi

"I want to applaud the decision of the Solomon Islands attorney general to invalidate the Chinese effort to lease the island of Tulagi for 75 years. This is an important decision to reinforce sovereignty, transparency, and the rule of law. Many nations in the Pacific have discovered far too late that Chinese use of economic and military levers to expand their influence often is detrimental to them and their people."

https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/1999287/