Preparations for this week’s Pacific Islands Forum summit in Palau have been rocked by the sudden departure of Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale to defend a challenge to his leadership, and concerns up to four other leaders will stay away.
Mr Wale jumped on a flight back to Honiara on Sunday after Home Affairs Minister Manasseh Maelanga lodged a no-confidence motion against him, days after his government began negotiating a new bilateral treaty with Australia.
The Solomons leader was to spearhead a push at the summit for a region-wide security agreement sidelining China.
As Taiwan’s attendance at this year’s PIF stokes anger in Beijing, it’s understood Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat and Samoa Prime Minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt will join Kiribati President Taneti Maamau as Palau no-shows, while Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was yet to confirm.
Anthony Albanese is due to arrive on Monday at the summit, where security issues and climate change are set to dominate the agenda.
Mr Maelanga accused Mr Wale – who became Prime Minister three months ago after a no-confidence vote against his predecessor – of making unilateral decisions without adequate consultation and of failing to take key matters through cabinet.
The Solomon Islands minister was one of Mr Wale’s main rivals for the leadership and served as deputy prime minister in 2019-24 under then pro-China leader Manasseh Sogavare.
A source familiar with the matter said: “This is China. They are deeply worried about the treaty with Australia. This is the inevitable pushback.”
The same source said China had “definitely been running a campaign to get leaders not to attend” this year’s PIF leaders summit. “It’s not about the agenda. It’s about Taiwan and Palau,” the person said.
Mr Albanese on Sunday said the PIF meeting would consider “issues crucial to the security and prosperity of all nations in our region”.
“Our engagement in the PIF, the Pacific Islands, and our contributions to the infrastructure, regional security and climate action of the region matter more than ever before,” he told the Queensland ALP conference.
Australia goes into this year’s summit on a high, after signing a bilateral defence treaty with Fiji and a hard-won agreement with Vanuatu, on top of an earlier alliance with PNG and a $600m deal for a PNG NRL team. It has also signed treaties with Nauru and Tuvalu.
Pacific Affairs Minister Pat Conroy, who will attend the summit along with Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, said the agreements made Australia “safer and more secure”.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact we’re in a permanent state of contest in the region for influence to be the partner of choice,” he said, in a veiled reference to the government’s efforts to keep China at bay.
Fiji last week said its PIF delegation would be led by Foreign Affairs Minister Sakiasi Ditoka, but Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr said Mr Rabuka might still attend the forum’s leaders retreat on Thursday.
Sources said Mr Napat would skip the meeting, while Samoa’s Prime Minister would be absent because of health issues.
Mr Maamau – one of the region’s most pro-China leaders – pulled out of the summit last week, sending his Foreign Service director, David Teaabo, in his place. Mr Teaabo was until recently Kiribati’s ambassador in Beijing.
The withdrawals come after the PIF was unable to agree on a joint statement condemning China’s nuclear-capable missile test in the Pacific in July, with Nauru and Kiribati refusing to sign on. Taiwan, blocked from attending last year’s summit in Solomon Islands, has sent Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung to attend the summit in Palau – one of just three Pacific nations that maintain diplomatic ties with the self-governed island.
Mr Whipps said his country had already faced threats from Beijing over Taiwan’s attendance, with a campaign on Chinese social media painting Palau as an “unsafe place to visit”.
“It’s not a true statement, but they said if Taiwan comes then … these are things that will happen. It shouldn’t be that way because we’ve made it clear from the beginning that Taiwan is a development partner, China is a dialogue partner. We welcome all partners to come to Palau,” he said.
“The Pacific is our home, not a theatre for geopolitical competition. We welcome partnerships that respect our sovereignty, protect our ocean and natural resources, and deliver real benefits for a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific.”
He said Taiwan had been a “true partner” since Palau established diplomatic relations with the island in 1999.
“That is our sovereign decision, not (China’s) decision,” Mr Whipps said.
At the same time, he suggested Beijing was linked to the trafficking of drugs in the region. “We now have 13 Chinese in prison in Palau, and it’s almost like do they want to overwhelm our prison to keep on sending more of these people,” he said.
Anna Powles, from New Zealand’s Massey University, said Taiwan’s presence in Palau was “a direct affront to Beijing, which has objected strongly and will likely to continue to do so”.
She said PIF summits were becoming dominated by geopolitical contestation by non-forum members. “It is critical the PIF develop guardrails to better manage these dynamics,” Dr Powles said.
She added that the absence of regional leaders from the meeting was “deeply disappointing for hosts Palau and for regionalism itself, which is being undermined by geopolitics and national interest”.
Beijing has sent its Special Envoy for Pacific Island Countries, Qian Bo, to Palau for the summit. In 2024, Mr Qian demanded the PIF final communique be amended after it affirmed Taiwan’s status as an ongoing “development partner”.
The US will be represented at the summit by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. He will be accompanied by US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday and US Pacific Command Deputy Commander Lieutenant General George Rowell.
Read related topics:China Ties