Divisions erupted in the Solomon Islands government when a motion of no confidence was lodged against Prime Minister Matthew Wale on August 29. The motion was then withdrawn on September 6, the day before it was due to be debated in parliament.
Minister of Home Affairs Manasseh Maelanga had moved against Wale after the prime minister left the country for the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) summit in Palau. Wale abruptly returned to Honiara before the summit started, adding to disruption caused by the non-appearance of prime ministers from Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Kiribati.
Amid escalating US-led denunciations of China on the eve of the PIF, New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters publicly denounced the cabinet ministers involved in the Solomons rebellion and said he was “highly suspicious” about whether foreign interference (i.e. from China) had played a part in it. The Australian newspaper made similar accusations, without any evidence.
The challenge in fact echoed the one Wale had helped orchestrate against his predecessor, Jeremiah Manele. Wale, who leads the Solomon Islands Democratic Party (SIDP), was installed as prime minister on May 15 after Manele, of the OUR (Ownership, Unity and Responsibility) Party, lost a no confidence vote amid mass cabinet resignations and coalition fractures after just two years in office.
A prominent critic of the country’s 2022 security pact with China, Wale won the leadership contest against Manele’s pro-China ex-Foreign Minister Peter Agovaka, 26 votes to 22, in a parliamentary ballot. Washington promptly congratulated Wale, stating that the US looked forward to working “to grow our cooperation” with the Solomons.
Wale’s six-party coalition, identified as GREAT: Government for Reform, Empowerment, Accountability and Transformation, is, like its predecessors, an opportunist and fragile formation, vulnerable to defections and no confidence challenges.
The reasons for the abortive attempt to oust Wale remain obscure. Maelanga declared on August 30 that Wale had “repeatedly made decisions on matters of national importance without properly consulting cabinet or obtaining its approval.”
Academic Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, writing for In-depth Solomons, said there had been controversy over the government’s proposed reform of legislation regarding control of mineral resources, with some landowners claiming it would undermine their rights. He also cited “allegations of nepotism, including claims that lucrative consultancy contracts and public service positions were given to relatives and cronies,” although he added that this was “not unique to Wale’s leadership.”
Two other cabinet ministers, Justice Minister Clezy Rore and Commerce Minister Harry Kuma, also resigned with Maelanga. Wale sacked Finance Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, also from Maelanga’s OUR Party. Lilo denied any involvement in plotting against Wale but told Radio NZ (RNZ) he felt obliged to support the motion.
Wale has since elevated three government backbench MPs to cabinet to replace the rebel ministers. He stabilised his position when two opposition MPs crossed the floor, bringing the coalition’s support to 31 seats in the 50-seat parliament.
After withdrawing his motion, Maelanga said it was “never about personal ambition, personal interests, or creating division in our country” and affirmed his support for Wale as prime minister. Thanking Maelanga, Wale told the Solomon Star newspaper: “I have learned a lot: to listen more and to consult more.”
The political situation, however, remains highly unstable. On September 7, Wale indefinitely adjourned parliament to stave off further threats to his rule.
Unresolved tensions and intrigue have for years wracked the country’s ruling elite, fuelled by US and Australian imperialist pressure to cut ties with China. In 2022 the government of then Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare faced threats of US military intervention after it signed the security agreement with Beijing.
A previous Sogavare administration was ousted in 2006–07 following Canberra’s machinations during the 2003–2017 Australian-led military occupation, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
After switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019, Sogavare was again destabilised by a right-wing separatist movement in Malaita province, encouraged by Washington. The Malaitan forces led a failed coup attempt in 2021 that involved three days of anti-Chinese looting and arson in Honiara.
Like other impoverished Pacific nations, the Solomon Islands is confronted with Washington, backed by Australia and New Zealand, seeking to secure unchallenged economic and geostrategic dominance over the region.
In his first trip abroad as prime minister in June, Wale held talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and announced a sharp strategic pivot away from China. He declared he wanted to “reset” the relationship with Canberra, agreeing to start negotiations on a comprehensive treaty with Australia and promising to “review” the Solomons’ agreement with China.
Wale then paid urgent visits to New Zealand, the US, Japan and Papua New Guinea, promoting his conception of a Pacific-wide security treaty. Wale made clear that he believes China should not play a major role in Pacific affairs, and that there should be a “Pacific-led” security architecture—which really means subordinating the region to US imperialism and its allies.
Wale forged a Ship Rider Agreement to allow the US Coast Guard into Solomon Islands waters for joint maritime enforcement and surveillance patrols. The deal was signed in July aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane berthed at Honiara. The US holds similar bilateral maritime agreements with more than a dozen Pacific countries, allowing joint activities in their vast Exclusive Economic Zones.
Former prime minister Sogavare, now opposition leader and speaking for the pro-China faction, attacked the Ship Rider Agreement, describing it as an affront to Solomon Islands’ sovereignty. He insisted that the Solomons are already waiving powers to the US under a 1991 Status of Forces Agreement, which is still in force and which operates without proper transparency or oversight by the parliament.
The US and Australia are moving to stabilise Wale’s leadership.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau visited Honiara following his high-level involvement in the PIF and held talks with Wale, signing an agreement to renew the US Peace Corps presence in the Solomon Islands. Until its suspension in 2000, the program had seen over 700 Americans serve as an arm of US “soft power” in the Solomons over three decades.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on September 7 that Australia had reached an in-principle agreement on a “sweeping” new treaty with the Solomons. A leaked text message revealed the Albanese government has promised more than $A980 million in additional funding to lock in the pact. According to the ABC, the leaked text underlined Canberra’s determination to buttress Wale’s political position.
The deal includes $142 million in funding for education reforms and $47.8 million to provide “visa improvements” and deal with “security requests from Solomon Islands.” It aims to boost support in the Solomons parliament by funding a scheme to funnel millions directly to MPs to spend on their constituencies over the coming three years.
The ABC claims that Canberra has been “racing” to complete negotiations while Wale retains power. The Albanese government is reportedly “anxious” the deal could be endangered if the prime minister is toppled and replaced by Maelanga, or even another candidate “more sceptical towards Australia” such as Sogavare.
None of the agreements have anything to do with alleviating widespread poverty in the country of some 700,000 people. Their purpose is to establish neocolonial control. The Solomon Islands, which was the site of some of the most fierce fighting in the Pacific theatre during World War II, is being drawn into the US-led militarisation of the region and provocations against China, which are paving the way for an even more catastrophic war.