Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (center) arrives at an event during the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, on July 12. | AFP-JIJI
Sun Lee
The global community is closely watching the election campaign in the Solomon Islands for multiple reasons including division amongst the political parties over the contentious security pact with China. While the ruling party is in favour of pact with China the opposition parties think otherwise.
Even as the Pacific island prepares for national elections in April, the issue of a security pact with China has become a flashpoint. Opposition politicians have vowed to make public or even scrap the deeply contentious security pact with China if they get elected.
When unveiling his election platform Solomon Islands Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare spoke about further consolidating ties with Beijing under a “look north” foreign policy.
Former Solomon Islands opposition leader Mathew Wale accused Sogavare of selling out the country to “foreign interests” – a clear reference to some Chinese and Malaysian loggers and other companies that have built extensive political links in the Solomon Islands. Wale and former prime minister Rick Hou have come together under the Coalition for Accountability, Reform and Empowerment (CARE). Wale already announced he would take a very different approach to China than Sogavare, if his party wins. He has reservations about China for its behaviour towards the islands stating that the islands should protect its own interests and not bow down before China.
Wale has been a fierce critic of the Solomon Islands’ controversial and wide-ranging security pact with China, which Australia fears could open the door to a permanent Chinese military presence in the country. Wale stopped short of saying that he would scrap the agreement, stressing that he wanted to be “fair” to all countries and saying that the Solomon Islands needed to be “careful not to cause problems where it’s unnecessary to do so.”
Another prominent former opposition MP Peter Kenilorea Jr maintained that he would push to dump the security pact with China if he took a position within a governing coalition. He maintained that he would recognize Taiwan while maintaining ties with China – something Beijing would be very unlikely to accept.
Unlike Kenilorea, the caretaker Prime Minister is keen for Chinese government-funded facilities for the Pacific Games. His coalition’s manifesto also talks about “transformative infrastructure developments” funded by China after the Solomon Islands made the diplomatic switch from Taiwan in 2019. “Our party will prioritize national defense and security and trade, while maintaining a pragmatic foreign policy stance,” the manifesto reads. “The party will strengthen (the) relationship
with China through a ‘look north’ foreign policy while nurturing ties with other traditional partners such as Australia.”
Experts said that China has a tacit understanding with caretaker PM Sogavare meaning he has always taken pro-China decisions. It may be recalled that it was Sogavare who got a constitutional amendment passed in Parliament to curry favour from China. The amendment led to the delay in the holding of national elections. Wale expressed fear stating that if protests turn violent, the Solomon Islands could see Chinese forces entering to deal with the situation, rather than Australian or New Zealand forces, the traditional security partners for the country.
However, Washington and Canberra raised serious concern about the security agreement. The security pact has sparked a competition for influence in the strategically vital Pacific Islands region. According to ABC News, Graeme Smith from the Australian National University said that it would be “tricky” for opposition parties to pull together a governing coalition, and Sogavare might be able to make history as the first political leader in Solomon Islands history to serve successive terms.
Emboldened by the encouraging response to Sogavare, China opened a large embassy, started construction on a stadium complex and signed secretive deals with the government on security, aviation, telecommunications and more. According to a New York Times report, the curiosity about China’s big spending and lending had given way to concern.
The daily quoted some workers at the stadium complaining about unfulfilled promises on pay. Residents fret that the prime minister and Chinese officials were undermining democracy, as politicians who resisted China’s plans, or just asked tough questions, have reported that their rivals were suddenly flush with money and pro-China messages that the public is expected to simply accept.
Experts fear that friendship between Sogavare and China would weaken the Pacific Island nation’s young democracy. For years, Beijing has thrown its wealth across the globe to fuel its economy, gain geopolitical influence and blunt criticism. The Solomon Islands has been portrayed by Chinese state media as a model of what China’s international efforts can accomplish, suggesting an unstoppable march toward dominance by America’s main competitor.
It is time for US and other countries to keep a watch on the Pacific islands in the proposed elections and later as well.
Sun Lee is a pseudonym for a writer who covers Asia.
