This is CBS I on the world with John Bachelor.

Here's John Bachelor.

Off to Oceania, the vast part of the planet Blue of the Pacific and Indian Ocean,

with island states and archipelago and large populations in between Alaska to the

north and Africa to the west. Cleopascal joins to report on a centerpiece of this vast canvas that is the

Solomon Islands known to the United States as the home of one particular island Guaro Canal, but all of these islands are now in the contest between the People's Republic of China and everybody else, chiefly the United States and Australia and Five Eyes, New Zealand,

and the UK and Canada are involved.

But the contest is leaning heavily towards China at this moment.

So I begin the tale with the first I ever met the Solomon Islands outside of Guadal Canal.

My history stopped in 1942-43 with the push north towards the Philippines and then

towards Japan when the Imperial Japanese Navy dominated this region.

Clio, a very good evening to you.

You introduced me again to after the Second War.

An island called Malata, which is part of the Salomon Islands group, and the then

Premier Daniel Sudani, who needed medical attention.

This is years ago, I'm remembering incompletely. The medical attention was not available in the

Salomon and it was offered to him by the medical facilities in Taipei, Taiwan.

He chose to save his own life, went to Taiwan, was treated and returned.

And for that, he was ostracized.

Many years later, he is now again a candidate in Malata to either be Premier or a

member of the legislature but that's at risk that's at risk because the Chinese

have since then filled in a lot of the questions about who's in charge here and

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