The prime minister of Solomon Islands defended his government's decision to establish diplomatic relations with China, accusing agents of Taiwan of trying to destabilise the government.
Manasseh Sogavare made a statement during a heated day in parliament, as opposition leader Mathew Wale tried to remove the prime minister through a no-confidence motion that was defeated by a significant majority.
Wale blamed Sogavare for the deadly anti-government protests and riots that have shaken the country in recent weeks. On November 24 there were protesters on the parliamentary precinct in the east of Honiara, where they allegedly set fire to a leaf hut next to Parliament House where MPs and staff go to smoke and eat lunch. The violence followed for hours with buildings being torched in Chinatown, as well as a police station and a school.
The violence continued for days. Three bodies were found in a burned-out building in a store in the Chinatown district of Honiara.
Many of the protesters come from Malaita province, the most populous province in the country, where the provincial government has had tense relations with the central government for years. In the year 2019, tensions intensified when Sogavare announced that Solomon Islands would switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China, a decision that Malaita premier Daniel Suidani strongly criticised.
On Monday, Sogavare defended the decision, saying traditional donors had not been able to assist the Solomon Islands with its development challenges.
He said that China as an economic powerhouse provides an opportunity for us to address our development needs and challenges.
The national government is not needed to bow to the interests of Taiwan and its agents on this matter, because Solomon Islands recognised the People's Republic of China and that is the end of that matter, Sogavare said.
He said agents of Taiwan had been calling for the government to conduct consultations about potentially switching allegiance back to Taiwan, something he said would not happen. Solomon Islands as a sovereign democratic state affirms its decision and stands by its traditional partners: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and New Zealand and the rest of the world in recognising the People's Republic of China as the legitimate government of China, Sogavare said.
Sogavare said that the government did not need the approval of provincial governments to make decisions on bilateral relationships.
Wale said that China was not the issue, but rather the prime minister's lack of humility and unwillingness to listen to the people.
The issue is the prime minister's deception. The government will listen to everyone's views on the question of the switch and make a statement in the media. You will leave no stone unturned. He said that they would reach out to all the constituencies.
Wale said that unfulfilled promises by the prime minister had fuelled the protests.
Sogavare, a controversial figure in the Solomon Islands parliament, was elected prime minister in 2000 after a coup against the government. He has served four terms.
It was not the first motion in Parliament to remove Sogavare. In 2017 he was voted out after he said he was no longer listening to his fellow MPs and did not tolerate dissent.
Honiara, the capital, was relatively quiet when the motion was defeated in Parliament. Over the past two weeks, more than 200 peacekeepers from PNG, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand have flown in to help the local police force in maintaining law and order.