Caretaker Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele says Cabinet and legal processes must be completed before signing the Melanesian Ocean Declaration.
Caretaker Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele says the Solomon Islands remains committed to signing the Melanesian Ocean Reserve Declaration, despite delays caused by the current political situation.
Mr Manele said Solomon Islands was among the early supporters of the regional initiative, but the declaration cannot yet be formally endorsed because constitutional and Cabinet processes have not been completed.
Tavuli News asked the caretaker Prime Minister about Solomon Islands’ position on the matter during his final press conference.
Mr Manele said once the political situation settles down and a new Prime Minister is in place, a paper will be presented to Cabinet for consideration.
“It is an important initiative that we helped to initiate, and we will sign it as soon as the political situation settles down,” he said.
The comments follow remarks by Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, William Soaki, at the Melanesian Ocean Summit in Port Moresby this week.
Speaking at the summit, Mr Soaki defended the government’s decision not to endorse the declaration at this stage, saying the matter must first go through domestic legal and constitutional processes.
He said the proposed declaration had not yet received clearance from the Attorney General’s office or endorsement by Cabinet.
“These are not procedural preferences,” Mr Soaki said.
“They are the constitutional mechanisms through which our sovereign commitments are authorized.”
Mr Soaki also stressed that Solomon Islands’ approach to ocean governance is grounded in Indigenous systems and customary stewardship.
“The ocean is not a resource to be managed from above,” he said.
“It is a living system of which we are part.”
He said the country’s participation in the summit remains voluntary and technical in nature, adding that no external body would direct activities within Solomon Islands waters without the government’s consent.
Concluding his address, Mr Soaki said Solomon Islands was focused on ensuring strong governance foundations before committing to international agreements.
“The quality of a foundation matters more than the speed of construction,” he said.
The Melanesian Ocean Reserve is a regional ocean governance and conservation initiative involving Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The initiative aims to strengthen marine protection, sustainable resource management and Indigenous stewardship across a shared ocean region spanning millions of square kilometres in the Pacific.
