The Solomon Islands switched recognition to Beijing – but its largest province still favours Taiwan

The September switch is not all rosy, with pro-Taipei sentiment lingering throughout the country, particularly in Malaita

The US is interested in funding infrastructure in the province, complicating existing political divisions in the Pacific nation

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Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at an October signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00am, 28 Dec 2019Updated: 9:14am, 28 Dec 2019

The sudden appearance last month of ex-militants on the streets of Malaita, the largest province in the Solomon Islands, sent an unmistakable message to the provincial authorities: drop your opposition to the central government’s switch in diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.

The decision in September marked the loss of the most populous of Taipei’s few remaining allies in the Pacific, drawing praise from Beijing and a sharp rebuke from Washington.

Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani suggested the dozen or so former combatants – who took part in the ethnic violence that convulsed the archipelago from 1998-2003, prompting the intervention of Australian troops and police – had likely been sent on behalf of the Solomon Islands national government to intimidate the province into supporting the switch.

Describing themselves as members of the Solomon Islands Post-Conflict Rehabilitation and Restoration Association, an organisation of former militants dedicated to peace building, the group denied being sent by the national government in Honiara. Rather than to intimidate, the men insisted they had come to the province to participate in a public dialogue organised by the central government to discuss the diplomatic switch, which Malaita officials have said was made without proper consultation.

The controversy reflects the simmering tensions between central and provincial authorities that have been brought to the fore as the United States and China vie for influence in a patch of the Pacific both consider to be of major strategic significance.

Months after hailing the switch as being “on the right side of history”, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has struggled to overcome deep-rooted mistrust of Beijing in Malaita – which has a history of separatist sentiment, and which Washington has targeted for renewed engagement despite failing to convince Honiara to stick with Taipei.

The Solomon Islands switched recognition to Beijing – but its largest province still favours Taiwan

The September switch is not all rosy, with pro-Taipei sentiment lingering throughout the country, particularly in Malaita The US is interested in funding infrastructure in the province, complicating existing political divisions in the Pacific nation

The September switch is not all rosy, with pro-Taipei sentiment lingering throughout the country, particularly in Malaita

The US is interested in funding infrastructure in the province, complicating existing political divisions in the Pacific nation