The strong earthquake collapsed the roof of the Australian High Commission in Honiara. Staff are safe and officials trying to confirm the safety of other Australians.
Opposition Leader Mathew Wale said Australia was trying to “suck up” to Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and out-compete China for influence.
Solomon Islands and Kiribati,the two most recent nations to switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing,are the greatest beneficiaries.
China had patiently and strategically set out to dominate the global technology space and its “politically motivated” misuse of that power had become an “increasingly urgent problem”.
The Albanese government might get frustrated by its Pacific neighbour partly because it can’t control it,but it needs to temper its expectations.
Admitting that Pacific nations have been given “short shrift” for years,the US has sought to make amends in the region of growing interest to China.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says his country had been subjected to a barrage of unwarranted and misplaced criticisms,misinformation and intimidation.
A black belt karate expert who has served four stints as prime minister,Sogavare has an unpredictable temperament and a troubled relationship with Australia.
Two days after saying it was “foreign interference”,Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has accepted Australia’s offer to fund the national elections.
Jose Ramos-Horta defended China’s role as a rising power,arguing it has “hardly ever” invaded other countries and was unlikely to do so in the future.
The Coalition has accused Foreign Minister Penny Wong of “woefully” mishandling the relationship with the Solomons by going public about the sensitive offer.