Solomon Islands contender vows to abolish China security treaty

Peter Kenilorea says the pact with Beijing is not beneficial to the Solomon Islands.

Members of the Solomons International Assistance Force stand guard outside a counting centre in Honiara on Thursday. Picture: AFP

A leading contender to become the Solomon Islands’ next prime minister has vowed to rip up a security pact with China, as the Pacific nation began counting votes on Thursday in a pivotal general election.

“If we are in government, we will abolish the security treaty,” Peter Kenilorea said from his base on the island of Malaita. “We don’t think it’s beneficial to the Solomon Islands.”

Relations with China are a central issue in the Solomon Islands’ fiercely contested and keenly watched election, which took place on Wednesday. The vote is being seen in part as a referendum on China’s efforts to stamp its mark on the region.

With vote-counting already under way, Mr Kenilorea’s comments highlight the stakes for Solomon Islands and the South Pacific region.

Incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has championed deeper ties with Beijing as a way of developing what is one of the poorest nations in the world.

The centrepiece of Mr Soga­vare’s embrace was a contentious 2022 security pact that has seen Chinese police deployed to the island and which critics say paves the way for a possible Chinese military base.

In contrast, Mr Sogavare’s ­rivals like Mr Kenilorea advocate rekindling ties with “traditional partners” like Australia, the US and Taiwan.

“We don’t have natural enemies,” he said, lamenting the fact that the Solomons has become a focal point for competition between the world’s two largest military and economic powers – China and the US.

“It has put us on the map for the wrong reasons. To raise tensions unnecessarily here, in the geopolitical scheme of things, is something we don’t really need.”

Those tensions were on clear display on Thursday as ballots were trucked into a heavily guarded counting centre in the capital, Honiara, watched over by international teams of uniformed Fijian soldiers and Australian police.

Startling and unproven claims of foreign interference have upped the ante for a vote billed as one of the nation’s most crucial in a generation. Chinese news outlets have pushed reports that the US might orchestrate riots to block Mr Sogavare from returning to power.

US ambassador Ann Marie Yastishock said such rumours were “blatantly misleading … We strongly refute allegations being made in known propaganda outlets that claim USAID and the US government has sought to influence the election in Solomon Islands.”

For now, the tensions have not developed into unrest.

Chief electoral officer Jasper Anisi said “everything is peaceful” so far – no mean feat in a ­nation where elections have often spilled over into violence.

AFP