As both China and the US look to increase its influence in the South Pacific, they will be closely observing who will have control over the more than 900 islands that make up the Solomon Islands.
Manasseh Sogavare, the 69-year-old blackbelt in karate who is running for an extraordinary second term as prime minister, moved the Solomon Islands’ allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing back in 2019.
Then, shocking the US and its allies, he said that China will be a part of a security compact with the US in 2022, which was leaked in draft form.
It is by using “armed police, military personnel, and other law enforcement and armed forces” to protect public order.
