China accused of foreign interference in Solomon Islands after minister quits international group

By foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic and Solomon Islands reporter Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong, ABC

In short:

• China's embassy in Solomon Islands is accused of allegedly forcing a newly appointed minister in the Pacific island nation to quit an international group.
• The Rural Development Minister Daniel Waneoroa announced on Sunday that he'd left the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

What's next?

• China's embassy in Solomon Islands didn't say whether it had made any demands, but in a statement said the foreign interference allegations were "baseless."

China's Embassy in Solomon Islands has become embroiled in a foreign interference controversy after allegedly forcing a newly appointed minister in the Pacific island nation to quit an international group pushing back against Beijing's growing global influence.

Rural Development Minister Daniel Waneoroa announced on Sunday he had left the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) - which draws in politicians from more than three dozen countries - saying he made the decision "in the interest of fostering stability and aligning with a collective national vision" under Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele.

That drew a furious response from IPAC, which accused China of "bullying behaviour", saying Beijing had issued a "direct and shocking challenge" to the sovereignty of Solomon Islands.

Waneoroa was only appointed Rural Development Minister 10 days ago.

Manele offered him the position to coax him away from a broad coalition of MPs - including both government defectors and opposition MPs - which had coalesced to challenge the prime minister's hold on power.

In the end Manele warded off the challenge by cobbling together a new majority in parliament, forcing his political opponents to abandon a motion of no confidence they were planning to issue in parliament last week.

But the flurry of horse trading also created a diplomatic headache for Manele, because of Waneoroa's position as one of two Solomon Islands "co-chairs" for IPAC.

The ABC has been told China was angered by Mr Waneoroa's position with IPAC, which maintains strong links with Taiwan and which has tried to build international pressure on Beijing over human rights abuses, including in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

The group has previously accused China of resorting to threats and blackmail to stop MPs from several developing countries joining an international IPAC conference hosted in Taiwan in June last year.

Over the weekend a prominent civil society group in Solomon Islands said the Chinese embassy had demanded to meet Waneoroa, and suggested embassy officials had threatened to withdraw development funding from development programs because of his links to IPAC.

In a stinging statement, Transparency Solomon Islands said on Saturday that China's actions risked destabilising Manele's government, and demanded the embassy stop "interfering" in local politics.

"The People's Republic of China must understand: Solomon Islands is not a satellite state like Hong Kong," it said.

"No embassy has the right to issue political demands or threats to our sovereign nation."

The other IPAC co-chair in Solomon Islands, prominent MP Peter Kenilorea Jr, also told the ABC that he was "aware that Hon Waneoroa had been pressured by the Chinese embassy here in Solomon Islands to quit IPAC for some time now".

And on Sunday afternoon Waneoroa revealed he had resigned from the group on Thursday last week.

He said while he "acknowledged the value" of his IPAC experience, "the current political landscape demands leadership that is responsive and united."

"I believe that aligning with [Mr Manele's coalition] GNUT is not only about policies, but about building a just, equitable, and prosperous Solomon Islands," he said.

In the wake of his announcement, IPAC accused China of using its investments in Solomon Islands as "leverage" against Waneoroa and the government.

"For a country that boasts of not having imperial ambitions, China's actions in the Solomons have the hallmarks of neo-colonialism," said IPAC executive director Luke de Pulford.

"What China fails to realise is that this bullying behaviour is fomenting deep resentment in the Solomons and everywhere else they do it. It will backfire eventually.

"In the meantime, the world is watching to see if the Solomon Islands government responds to this direct and shocking challenge to their sovereignty."

China's embassy in Solomon Islands did not say whether it had made any demands of the minister, but in a statement said the foreign interference allegations were "baseless".

"China will never interfere in Solomon Islands' internal affairs, and also firmly oppose any other countries' interference in Solomon Islands' internal affairs," it said.

"[The] Chinese embassy firmly opposes such baseless allegation, and reiterates its support to the political stability of Solomon Islands."

Like his predecessor Manasseh Sogavare, Manele has been intent on building closer ties with China in the wake of Solomon Islands' decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019.

Since then China has made significant investments in Solomon Islands infrastructure - including a massive new stadium for the Pacific Games and a large new medical centre opened this year - as well as signing contentious security and policing pacts with the Pacific nation.

Meanwhile, Solomon Islands has been a vocal supporter of China's claims over Taiwan, with Manele signing a joint statement last year that said it "firmly supports all efforts by Chinese government to realise national reunification".

Solomon Islands officials have also pushed to stop Taiwanese officials from attending this year's Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Honiara, risking fresh division with Taipei's remaining allies in the region.

Last year Kenilorea Jr told IPAC's conference in Taiwan that he would personally like to see Solomon Islands re-establish ties with Taipei, drawing condemnation from Manele's government.

-ABC