Solomon Islands becomes unlikely epicenter of US-China competition

A US delegation led by the top White House and State Department officials for Asia is heading this week to the Solomon Islands, a South Pacific archipelago with fewer than 700,000 inhabitants that has unexpectedly become ground zero for US-China competition. Why it matters: A planned security agreement negotiated with Beijing, which could allow China's navy to dock warships on the islands, sent the US and its allies in Australia and New Zealand into diplomatic hyperdrive. – The US officials heading to the islands will make the case that the US, not China, "can provide security, prosperity and peace for…