A no-confidence vote in the provincial legislature resulted in Daniel Suidani, the governor of the Solomon Islands’ largest province and a prominent critic of China, losing his position, according to Australian news reporters.
The Pacific Islands nation’s premier of Malaita province, Suidani, was accused of misappropriating funds by legislators, who then brought up the vote.
Around the time of the election, a small group of his supporters assembled in the province capital of Auki, where they were confronted by riot police.
According to reports, Suidani lost the vote after 17 members abstained, even though he wasn’t present at the provincial assembly.
Suidani has long criticised the decision of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to switch diplomatic allegiance to China from Taiwan in 2019.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he rejected Chinese investment in his province and hosted a number of public celebrations for the arrival of Taiwanese aid shipments, even though Sogavare’s government had not authorized the aid.
Suidani and Sogavare got into an increasingly heated and public argument as a result of Suidani’s ongoing support for Taipei, which put Suidani directly at odds with the One China policy of the Solomon Islands.
Unrest in Honiara, which is on the neighboring island of Guadalcanal, was sparked in 2021 by resentment about how the central government treated Malaita and the Solomon Islands’ stance to Beijing.
At least three people were killed by rioters who attacked buildings and shops in the Chinatown neighborhood of the city until order was restored with the aid of Australian police.
Alarm was raised in Australia and other countries when it was revealed that Sogavare had inked a security agreement with China in April of last year.
As China’s influence spreads, the United States has been increasing its involvement in the Pacific.
The US reopened its embassy in Honiara last month which had closed down in 1993.
Author-Roberta Appiah
