Politics, the party in charge decided that the best response was to pretend the problem didn't exist and maybe it'll go away. Wearing a mask is a very public sign that there is a problem.
"Like a viper slithering around its prey, the CCP [Chinese Communist party] is coiling around Solomon Islands in hopes of tightening their grip on the Indo-Pacific region,” Dunn said.
First impression is that the quote is unnecessarily dramatic.
Second is that no, I think politicians should use dramatic comparisons like that, it's fun.
Third was "Wait, vipers use venom to hunt, not constriction"
Nice excuses