Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare revealed the ban on Tuesday after news broke that a United States Coast Guard ship was not allowed to refuel at the country's port.
A spokesman for the prime minister told AFP the moratorium "includes all countries in the world".
"No preference to any specific country," he said.
The spokesman added there was "no specific timeframe" for a review of a naval approval process that was also announced Tuesday.
The moratorium will be closely watched in the region, given Solomon Islands' growing closeness with Beijing. The two countries signed a contentious security pact in April.
The naval ban comes a week after Sogavare's office threatened to ban or deport Western reporters for "disrespectful and demeaning" coverage and said some foreign media were trying to "engineer regime change".
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles would not be drawn on the moratorium during media interviews Wednesday, saying only that it was "a matter for Solomon Islands".
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, is Copyright 1995-2026 Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principles for news reporting and research purposes. |