Pacific regional security: What impact will the elections in Solomon Islands have? | DW News

lawmakers in the Solomon Islands have picked a new prime minister in an election that was closely watched by the Pacific’s major Powers Jeremiah man is a former foreign minister who pledged to continue following policies of ever closer ties with China now the Solomon Islands occupy a strategic position Northeast of Australia which is of interest to China and its goal of expanding its influence in the Pacific the new prime minister says he’ll bring more infrastructure to the islands Australia has traditionally been the archipelago’s biggest donor but China is catching up and has constructed roads a sports stadium and a telecommunications Network because of this violence Parker Novak is an indopacific geopolitics expert with the Atlantic Council Think Tank he joins us from Washington DC welcome to DW let’s start with why the US and China care so much about who leads this tiny little chain of islands off the east coast of papia new and at north of Australia yeah good to be with you today and I think the answer to that is that because of the geopolitical location of the Pacific Islands The Wider region carries geopolitical implications for indopacific geopolitics which are very much relevant to China the United States Australia and other countries in the region and because of the Solomon Islands location or strike key sea Lanes in the melanesian archipelago it’s a lot of interest from outside powers and ultimately if you’re able to exercise influence in the Solomon Islands you’re able to then project influence outwards potentially and I think that’s ultimately what interests China in their Embrace of the Solomon Islands okay so the the previous prime minister grabbed the world’s attention when he signed a security deal with China back in 2022 and the new guy uh Jeremiah man looks like he’s going to continue his country’s China friendly stance why what’s in it for the the Solomon Islands the argument that Mr sagari made during the election campaign that Mr Mani others aligned with them made in the campaign and argued was that aligning with the Solomon Islands not only is bringing them increased development benefit from China particularly in the economic realm but also is causing other outside powers like Australia in the United States to queue up with additional development and economic aid that would not otherwise be there um I think there’s a you know certainly a debate to be had as to whether Chinese Aid has had the desired impact within the country or not and you know whilst Mr Sagar was well known for his Embrace of China he was very public and forward leaning about it you know Mr Man was his foreign minister for five years and he was ultimately a key architect of that deal and one of the folks who spearheaded it during the Sagar Administration and we can expect that broadly speaking to continue government from from what you from I I gather it’s a very nuanced argument but it does sound like um the Solomon Islands are playing one side off against the other that’s that’s that is the case yeah I think there’s a lot of commentarii and Analysis around that it effectively argues that I do think one angle that is important to mention is that when Mr sagari was in office there was also an ideological drive to him um for personal and professional reasons he is known for having a bit of an anti- Australian attitude so there was also an element of that app play and I think Mr sagari also thought by securing additional development aid from China that he would be able to exercise influence over how it was dispensed in the country that was going to help him hold power at home and win the election which you know you had mixed results on obviously he’s not returning as prime minister but he is still returning as a member of parliament for his consti uy and can certainly be expected to exercise influence moving forward despite not holding the top job any okay so have the US Australia or indeed the West in general have we have we dropped the ball here and let China sort of slide in without without us noticing because um the the us at Al have been taking the Solomon Islands effectively for granted whether it happened unnoticed or noticed really depends on who you ask you know there’s a lot of of folks who make arguments one way or the other but I think the fact is that once diplomatic recognition from Solon Island was sit from China to Taiwan and particularly when the security agreement was made in 2022 that woke Western countries up you’ve since seen the United States for example open an embassy in aniara you’ve seen increased Australian development Aid and economic a um and you’ve certainly seen Western Powers you know really wake up and you I think there’s something to be said that they might have been behind the eightball a little bit a little bit but they’re certainly making up for that and I think they may see a sliver of opportunity with the new prime minister despite him being poised to broadly continue the country’s look North foreign policy okay so playing playing both sides off against each other are Solomon Islanders therefore likely to look around in I don’t know two years four years 10 years time and say oh look we’ve got airports schools shops houses are they going to see some t benefits um that is the intent um and that was something Mr sagari tried to argue during the campaign that it was bringing Ben economic benefit that the infrastructure say for the Pacific games was bolstering the country’s national pride in Regional influence but you saw his opponents during the campaign you know argue against that with one Minister one example being the parlamentary opposition meter Matthew wall who essentially criticized Mr Sagar for getting Stadium built in not funding hospitals not building schools and argued that Chinese Aid was not actually delivering the promised benefits and if you look at the state of the Solomon Islands economy it is one of the more underdeveloped countries in the world poverty is pretty high Health Care is lacking you know I think it’s there’s something to be said that Chinese development Aid has not delivered what prime minister Sakari promised thanks for talking us through that Parker Novak from the Atlantic Council thank you to be with you thank you

Lawmakers in the Solomon Islands have picked a new prime minister, in an election that was closely watched by the Pacific’s major powers. Jeremiah Manele is a former foreign minister who has pledged to continue following policies of ever-closer ties with China.

The Solomon Islands occupy a strategic position northeast of Australia, which is of interest to China and its goal of expanding its influence in the Pacific.

The new prime minister says he will bring more infrastructure to the islands. Australia has traditionally been the archipelago’s biggest donor, but China is catching up and has constructed roads, a sports stadium and a telecommunications network.

00:00 Pro-China Jeremiah Manele elected as new PM
00:51 Parker Novak, Indo-Pacific analyst

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#IndoPacific #SolomonIslands #Security #China

49 comments

  1. it's a big opportunity for china to build a spy network and using the solomon to be anti western…… solomon will be next a small province of china soon 😃😂 don't be mad at me…..ammh being serious you know…..😃☺️

  3. solomon people vote for their president because his attitude leaning towards China or West??? too simple and too naive

  8. Solomon islands economically is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific. Hopefully the government can use the geopolitical struggle to help bring economic growth, finding new markets for Solomon exports, create jobs, bring industrial development and help the progress of its citizens. But if they continued to line their pockets and sell resources off to these foreigners for free, then it's business as normal.

  10. The U.S. and the other Western powers think the Pacific is their "backyard" but otherwise there are no countries in the South Pacific that are "unfriendly" to China. For example, Papua New Guinea's principal foreign affairs slogan is, "Friend to all, enemy to none".

  12. All they want is doing business with the largest market in the world, only western media made-up stories to question their relationship when comes to China…😅

  13. Move closer with China means business and infrastructure …
    With US it means conflicts and weapons ..
    Everyone knows !!! 🤔

  16. Amerian backed NGOs paid certain people on a near by Island $25 million to go to the mainland and riot in particularly attacking Chinese business's trying to make out these were anti-Chinese protests. Of course the whole scheme came unstuck and everyone realised who the enermy was. The withdrawl of Western banks was a crippling blow. Understand China is not just their biggest trading partner but their only trading partner. China offers not just aid but jobs and ATMs

  18. Australia should not let their nose down, these islands are nowhere close to China if China controls them Australia will be under Chinese's thumb

  19. What a load of bull. The new government doesn’t want to deal with China. Added to that is that Australia has reformed the ADB so it won’t be lending for shoddy Chinese development projects.

  21. It is the choice of a certain country which is good to be with their own country and people to be with.

    China is not bad for a country which has no development for long decades.

    It is up to them..

  27. Who would have thought the Solomon Islands were so important! Both China and Australia don’t care for that country. Just more political chess moves.

  29. DW, I expect more of you. Fancy asking a US representative what they think of China viz a viz the Solomon Islands. Weren't you expecting the obvious US position. Why not ask a Chinese representative. Why so biased? There are lots of Indo Pacific specialists in China. Why not ask them?

  30. The US and Australia are like husbands that neglected their wives and are all of a sudden trying to be romantic once the wife has informed them that she has found another man and wants a divorce.

  32. U$ AUS more worry is France going to let China help build port on its Pacific island.
    China leader visit France next week.

    France still not happy about U$ AUS throw away its sub orders

  35. If the USA cared enough They would invest in a Pacific Development Fund. Gather experts from a handful of countries in the region and find out what each one needs – infrastructure, roads, hospitals, schools, harvesting sustainable fisheries, resource development, water filtration, etc. Not just offer "security" by asking them to host military bases.

  36. PoV DW: Oh my god is it even possible? Could one have imagined that non western countries can also play one against another for their benefit? Was it not like just the right of western countries?
    My PoV: DW out there to shame select countries using select terms in connection to them to brainwash… If west plays neighbor against neighbor it's political success but same done by anyone in east and south etc oh is it a cheap tactic to play one against another

  38. Why do West think, say and act as if they own every country in the world?Why are they always potarying country who give them completion as bad? China is not bad.Chinas approach is humanistic.West approach is confrontational and one of domination help bent on keeping their hegemony.

  39. Better leave the Solomon Island alone. We are a sovereign state of our own, and China is far better than Taiwan and any other long-time friends of Solomon Island. We love what China has done so far for our country.

  41. China is working on One Belt One Road , on Trades & Infrastructure projects .

    The US is working on One Bomb One Road , on Wars & Bad Mouthing China .

    China will bring prosperity & more Infrastructure to Solomon islands .

  43. It is not that Solomon Islands is pro-China it is because of their history of colonial abuse and slavery at the hands of Western colonists. No matter how the West used NGOs to fund opposition candidates in the Solomon Islands election to get a pro-US/Australia PM – they cannot wash away the sordid history of colonial abuse and slavery among the voters.

    The Solomon Islands has a history of colonization and practices resembling slavery.

    Colonial Era:

    – Late 19th Century: Both Germany and Britain established protectorates over different parts of the Solomons.
    Focus on Control: Colonial administrations aimed to control the islands and resources, often through suppressing traditional practices.

    Labor Practices:

    – Labor Trade: There was a significant labor trade in the region during the colonial period. Islanders were recruited or sometimes forced to work on plantations in other Pacific Islands and Queensland, Australia. While some aspects might have been voluntary, the conditions were often harsh and exploitative.

    – Local Plantations: Colonial powers and corporations like Lever Brothers also established plantations within the Solomons, again raising concerns about working conditions and the treatment of islanders.

    Successive Australian governments make it a point to tell the Solomon Islands that they are a backwards little island in Australia's backyard and that US/Australia is the one that should provide aids and security to Solomon Islands and not China!

  44. Won't be long until China parlays its increased "influence" over the Solomon's into a forward military base and port armed with long-range ASMs and the potential for nuclear ordinance. That development will have significant effects on national security for a number of nations in the region.

  48. China only started investing just 4 years ago, but look at the progress…. China does keep its promises if you play the geopolitical game with them

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