This photo taken with a mobile phone on July 3, 2023 shows the scenery of Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands. Situated in the southwest of the Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Islands boasts over 900 islands of various sizes.(Photo: Xinhua)

Citing China's influence for the US' suspension of returning to the Solomon Islands only demonstrates the US was a bully and troublemaker in the South Pacific region, Chinese analysts said.

In an Al Jazeera article titled "In the Solomon Islands, a US agency's struggles hint at China's influence," a former US official attributed the suspension of approval for the US Peace Corps to return to Solomon Islands to "China's influence." 

The official speaking under anonymity is familiar with the negotiations to bring back the Peace Corps, Al Jazeera said.

The agreement is likely to be postponed "indefinitely," according to the anonymous US official.

According to Al Jazeera, the US Peace Corps should have returned to the Solomon Islands in 2019, yet, they have yet to arrive more than four years later. 

Hyping China's influence on matters between the Solomon Islands and the US is a clearly false and utterly groundless allegation since it is well known that China adheres to the principle of not intervening into internal affairs of another state, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times.

These claims also exposed the US' hegemonic mentality and being accustomed to playing with their geopolitical circle of influence, according to observers. 

Instead of blaming China, the US should examine its own influence on the island country and why its previous partnership did not support the project, Yu suggested. 

The US has been very skillful in mobilizing local anti-government elements for protests via non-governmental organizations, and was suspected of playing a role in the Malaita protests against Solomon government. Therefore, it is understandable that the Solomon government is cautious about reintroducing the US Peace Corps, Yu said.

Having the Peace Corps return to Solomon apparently is part of US efforts to step up its diplomatic presence in the Pacific region as the fact that China's mutually beneficial cooperation with the South Pacific region has gained wide recognition and welcome, which has raised anxiety levels among US officials, analysts noted.