Morrison sends peacekeepers to Solomon Islands as riots escalate

AUSTRALIA rushed peacekeepers to the Solomon Islands yesterday hoping to quell riots that threatened to topple the Pacific nation’s government and left its capital ablaze.

After a second day of widespread looting and protests against Chinese influence on the island, Manasseh Sogavare, the prime minister, called on neighbouring Australia for help.

The first contingent of a 100-strong Australian police and military force was due to arrive late yesterday, as a defiant Mr Sogavare said that although the country had been “brought to its knees” by unrest, he would not resign.

The archipelago nation of around 700,000 people has for decades been beset by ethnic and political tensions.

The latest unrest began on Wednesday when thousands of protesters besieged parliament, setting fire to an outbuilding and calling for Mr Sogavare to be ousted. The protests have since descended into a violent free-for-all, with gangs of stick-wielding youths rampaging through the capital, Honiara, stripping stores of goods and clashing with police.

“There’s mobs moving around, it’s very tense,” one resident told AFP, asking not to be named.

By late yesterday, thousands of looters openly defied police lockdown orders, running through the streets carrying boxes, crates and bulging sacks of goods as flames crackled around them and plumes of thick black smoke billowed high above the capital.

Banks, schools, police stations and Chinese-owned businesses were among the buildings reportedly torched.

Many of the protesters are thought to be from the island of Malaita, which residents complain has been neglected by the central government.

Since 2019, the feud has been turbocharged by a row over Mr Sogavare’s decision to break diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognise Beijing.

Malaita authorities opposed the move and defiantly maintained contact with the Taiwan authorities. As a result the province continues to receive outsized aid from Taipei and Washington.

The province’s premier Daniel Suidani has accused Mr Sogavare of being in Beijing’s pocket, alleging he had “elevated the interest of foreigners above those of Solomon Islanders”.

Zhao Lijian, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman, called on the Solomon Islands government “to take all necessary measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens and organisations”.

Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, said the latest deployment was expected to last “a matter of weeks”, unlike Canberra’s previous peacekeeping mission, which ran from 2003 to 2017 and cost about £1.6 billion.

He said: “It is not the Australian government’s intention in any way to intervene in the internal affairs of the Solomon Islands, that is for them to resolve.”