NewsBite

Solomon Islands

June

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele after signing the visitors’ books.

New policing deal to keep China out of the Pacific

Australia has agreed to help Solomon Islands grow its police force following high level leaders’ talks.

  • Andrew Tillett

May

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has defended his fellow Labor ministers.

Australia ready to help Solomons build a defence force: Marles

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will meet Solomon Islands’ new leader Jeremiah Manele in Honiara on Tuesday.

  • Andrew Tillett
Jeremiah Manele, then Solomon Islands’ foreign minister, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

New Solomons PM still close to China, but more diplomatic

Despite being foreign minister for almost five years, Jeremiah Manele is unlikely to strictly follow the pro-China policy of his predecessor, according to some.

  • Updated
  • Ben Westcott

April

Outgoing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare could remain a major player in Solomon Islands politics despite his demise.

Chinese influence lingers in Solomons despite Sogavare ouster

The new Solomon Islands government is not expected to be as overtly hostile to Australia after Manasseh Sogavare declared he will not recontest the prime ministership.

  • Andrew Tillett
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said he had been “vilified by media” and his family had been subjected to “unprecedented abuse”.

Solomon Islands PM steps down after elections

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare formed close ties with China during his terms in power and said he had been vilified for it.

  • Rod McGuirk
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Close ties. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping last year.

Pro-China Solomon Islands PM fails to win majority

Manasseh Sogavare has failed to win a majority in parliamentary elections, setting the stage for coalition negotiations.

  • Updated
  • Ben Westcott
Bondi Westfield on Thursday.

Mourners pay tribute to Bondi victims as shopping centre reopens

People have gathered at Westfield Bondi Junction in the eastern suburbs to pay tribute to the six people murdered last weekend. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Gus McCubbing and Andrew Hobbs

March

A small section of an atoll at Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

US passes long-delayed deal to fund crucial Pacific Island agreements

Although the three island nations involved are tiny, they span 4000 km across the Pacific, providing critical access for the US to operate in the Indo-Pacific region.

  • Demetri Sevastopulo and Kathrin Hille

January

Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting PNG in 2018.

China always a step ahead in Pacific influence tussle

While Australia and the United States are stepping up efforts to counter China’s rising influence in the Pacific, Beijing always seems to be one step ahead.

  • Michael Smith
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape.

China, Papua New Guinea in talks on policing, security cooperation

Beijing approached PNG in September with an offer to assist its police force with training, equipment and surveillance technology, says the country’s foreign minister.

  • Kirsty Needham

August 2023

Reinforcing connections: Anthony Albanese and Sitiveni Rabuka in Nadi in March.

How Fiji got a nasty lesson in Chinese authoritarianism

The Pacific nation watched in shock as Chinese security agents marched what it said were 77 criminal suspects onto a plane and flew them away for detention in China.

  • Michael E. Miller and Matthew Abbott

July 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Tonga’s Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi.

Blinken warns of China’s ‘problematic behaviour’ in Pacific

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the tiny kingdom of Tonga, as the US steps up diplomatic efforts in the Pacific to counter China’s influence.

  • Lucy Craymer
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Beijing last week.

China, not NATO, is militarising Asia

The Solomon Islands’ ‘strategic partnership’ with Beijing should disturb anyone who values peace. It also justifies Australia’s increased engagement with NATO.

  • Misha Zelinsky
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Beijing last week.

‘Un-neighbourly’: Sogavare lashes Australia over Chinese security deal

Solomons Island PM Manasseh Sogavare has accused Australia and the US of foreign interference after they called for transparency over a new Chinese police agreement.

  • Andrew Tillett
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Beijing this week.

‘Reliable brothers’: China, Solomon Islands boost ties

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has signed nine deals with China during his visit to Beijing this week.

  • David Brunnstrom
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Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare alarmed Australian officials last year by signing a security pact with China.

Solomons leader to be feted on first China visit since security pact

Manasseh Sogavare says his interest is development aid for his country and it will remain neutral in the global contest for influence between the US and China.

  • Kirsty Needham

June 2023

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare alarmed Australian officials earlier this year by signing a security pact with China.

Australia, Solomon Islands to review security pact after China moves in

Defence Minister Richard Marles has also flagged a long-term security presence for Australian forces in Solomon Islands.

  • Andrew Tillett

May 2023

Foreign Minister Penny Wong on a mission to the south Pacific in Vanuatu in 2022.

Biden or not, the Pacific ramp-up remains intact

Even without Joe Biden, the US and Australia have plenty to offer as a counter to China’s economic heft with island nations.

  • Meg Keen
PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

Biden to arrange another summit of Pacific Islands leaders this year

The US President’s planned stopover in Papua New Guinea had been viewed as a major step to build trust in a region where China has sought a greater security presence.

  • Jeff Mason and Kirsty Needham

March 2023

Michael Wesley’s new book goes into forensic detail about Australia’s mission to support Solomon Islands, starting in 2003.

How Australia helped save Solomon Islands from itself

An important new book explains how Australian soldiers, police officers and diplomats staunched a cycle of bloodshed and rebuilt a shattered state.

  • James Curran

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/solomon-islands-f9g