Earth Science News
WATER WORLD
Solomons' PM contender vows to abolish China security pact
Solomons' PM contender vows to abolish China security pact
by AFP Staff Writers
Honiara (AFP) April 18, 2024

A leading contender to become the Solomon Islands' next prime minister has vowed to rip up a security pact with China, as the Pacific nation began counting votes Thursday in a pivotal general election.

"If we are in government, we will abolish the security treaty," Peter Kenilorea told AFP from his village base on the island of Malaita.

"We don't think that it's beneficial to the Solomon Islands."

Relations with China are a central issue in the Solomon Islands' fiercely contested and keenly watched election, which took place on Wednesday.

The vote is being seen in part as a referendum on China's efforts to stamp its mark on the region.

With vote counting already under way, Kenilorea's comments highlight the stakes for Solomon Islands and the South Pacific region.

Incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has championed deeper ties with Beijing as a way of developing what is one of the poorest nations in the world.

The centrepiece of Sogavare's embrace was a contentious 2022 security pact that has seen Chinese police deployed to the island and which critics say paves the way for a possible Chinese military base.

In contrast, Sogavare's rivals like Kenilorea advocate rekindling ties with "traditional partners" like Australia, the United States and Taiwan.

"We don't have natural enemies," Kenilorea said, lamenting the fact that the Solomons has become a focal point for competition between the world's two largest military and economic powers -- China and the United States.

"It has put us on the map for the wrong reasons. To raise tensions unnecessarily here, in the geopolitical scheme of things, is something we don't really need," he said.

- 'Blatantly misleading' -

Those tensions were on clear display Thursday as ballots were trucked into a heavily guarded counting centre in the capital Honiara, watched over by international teams of uniformed Fijian soldiers and Australian police.

Startling and unproven claims of foreign interference have upped the ante for a vote billed as one of the nation's most crucial in a generation.

State-backed Chinese news outlets have pushed reports that the United States might orchestrate riots to block Sogavare from returning to power.

US Ambassador Ann Marie Yastishock said such rumours were "blatantly misleading".

"We strongly refute allegations being made in known propaganda outlets that claim USAID and the US Government has sought to influence the upcoming election in Solomon Islands," she said in a statement.

For now, the tensions have not developed into unrest.

Chief electoral officer Jasper Anisi said that "everything is peaceful" so far -- no mean feat in a nation where elections have often spilled over into violence.

But hand counting the paper votes is only the start of an arduous electoral process.

Once the parliament's 50 members are finally elected, they will begin bartering with each other behind closed doors to cobble together a ruling coalition.

Only once the dust has settled from this will a prime minister emerge.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Australia unveils new defence strategy, with eye on 'coercive' China
Sydney (AFP) April 17, 2024
Australia unveiled its first National Defence Strategy on Wednesday, signalling a new focus on deterring China's "coercive tactics" in a region seen as lurching towards conflict. The 80-page document offers a gloomy assessment of Pacific security and sets out a massive increase in defence spending to retool Australia's military to cope. "The optimistic assumptions that guided defence planning after the end of the Cold War are long gone," said Defence Minister Richard Marles, presenting the new s ... read more

WATER WORLD
UK home insurance claims linked to weather hit record

Putin calls to protect flood-hit areas from looting

Satellite data reveals subsidence risk for a third of China's urban population

Ukraine nuclear plant dangerously close to accident: IAEA

WATER WORLD
Cheap Chinese steel threatens jobs in Latin America

US firms reestablish rare earth element production

New 3D-printed elastomer advances soft robotics and wearable tech

Exploring the enigmatic behavior of granular materials through sound

WATER WORLD
Pro-China PM retains his seat in Solomon Islands election

Australia unveils new defence strategy, with eye on 'coercive' China

Solomons' PM contender vows to abolish China security pact

Plastic pollution impacts embryo survival across multiple marine species

WATER WORLD
From peak to plummet: impending decline of the warm Arctic-cold continents phenomenon

New geological map redefines understanding of Greenland's subterranean rocks

Ocean currents drive rapid Antarctic ice shelf melting

Boreal forest and tundra regions worst hit over next 500 years of climate change, study shows

WATER WORLD
Wine growers 'on tip of Africa' race to adapt to climate change

Record heat rots cocoa beans threatening Ivory Coast agriculture

Waste not want not: Peruvian drive to feed more with less

Farmers dump sheep killed by wolves in front of Swiss government building

WATER WORLD
'Crisis not over' as eruptions at Indonesia volcano go on

Slow recovery as Dubai airport, roads still deluged

Indonesia evacuating thousands after volcano erupts, causing tsunami threat

Burundi appeals for aid as rains, floods displace 100,000

WATER WORLD
Kenya military chopper crash kills defence chief

Saudi Arabia to host Sudan peace talks in next three weeks: US

Mauritanian defence minister in Mali after diplomatic row

IMF chief urges attention to war-ravaged Yemen, Sudan

WATER WORLD
Schoningen Discoveries Highlight Wood's Vital Role in Early Human Technology

Activists slam new Hong Kong ID card policy for trans people

Paleolithic sites near water sources key to understanding early human hunting practices

No 'human era' in Earth's geological history, scientists say

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.