The Solomons government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. It has had strained relations with the US and its allies since it struck a security deal with China in May. The USCGC Oliver Henry was on an illegal fishing patrol in the South Pacific for a regional fisheries service when it failed to enter Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, to refuel, a US Coast Guard press officer said in an emailed statement. The ship was diverted to Papua New Guinea, the official said. The British Navy declined to comment on social media reports that access to the Solomon Islands port was also unavailable for the patrol vessel HMS Spey – also involved in monitoring illegal fishing in the economic exclusion zones of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. “Ship schedules are under constant review and it is routine practice for them to change,” a Royal Navy spokesman said in an emailed statement. “For operational security reasons we are not discussing details.” Solomon’s government and Beijing have ruled out a Chinese military base on the islands, although a leaked draft showed the security agreement would allow the Chinese navy to dock and refit. The fisheries agency for the Pacific Islands Forum, a 17-nation Pacific bloc, has a marine surveillance center in Honiara and conducts annual illegal fishing surveillance operations with the help of Australia, the US, New Zealand and France. The Oliver Henry was scheduled for a routine logistics port call in the Solomon Islands, said Kristin Kam, public affairs officer for the US Coast Guard in Hawaii. “The Solomon Islands government has not responded to the US government’s request for diplomatic permission to refuel and refuel the ship in Honiara,” it said in a statement. “The US State Department is in contact with the Solomon Islands government and expects all future permits to be granted to US vessels.” HMS Spey had Fijian naval officers on board as it worked alongside long-range maritime patrol aircraft from Australia and New Zealand and the US Coast Guard in the Pacific Forum Islands Fisheries Service intelligence-gathering operation, the Royal Navy said in a statement Thursday . It conducted inspections of suspicious ships in ports as well as boardings at sea, it said. A Royal Navy spokesman said it “looks forward to visiting the Solomon Islands at a later date”.
