A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said officials would raise the issue with the Solomon Islands on a planned visit this week.

A leaked memo showed Beijing had told the Solomon Islands in December it wanted to send a security team of 10 Chinese police to its embassy

Australian PM Morrison said China had been "very clear" about aspirations to build a military base in the Pacific islands, but this had not occurred

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to announce the opening of a new embassy in the Solomon Islands during a visit to nearby Fiji – 29 years after the US downgraded its diplomatic presence