Solomon Island is a tropical island nation somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. That’s honestly the first thing that came into my mind before writing this. It’s a country of roughly 650 000 people east of Papua New Guinea. Despite its small size, it’s worth pointing out just how diverse the country is: 72 living languages are spoken there. However, the only official one is English because the Solomon Islands was an English colony until the 1970s. Many people use the English-based pidgin, called Pijin, to communicate across different groups. So at first, the Solomon Islands doesn’t look that different from its Pacific neighbors: a fairly small population on an island nation with lots of different ethnolinguistic groups and colonial history. But something worthwhile did take place in the Solomon Islands, and that’s why I think also you should be informed.
Like many Pacific island nations, the Solomon Islands has also traditionally recognized Taiwan as legitimate China. That has taken a turn during the 2010s when China has become rich and aggressive. In 2019 the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, announced that the country would pull off its recognition from Taiwan in favor of what the majority of the world has come to recognize as China. This has come to be known as ”The Switch” by the Solomon Islanders.
The Switch was only one of the reasons why massive demonstrations took place around the country. Other reasons included poverty that has been worsened thanks to the pandemic and the fact that Chinese companies have quickly moved into the Solomon Islands and created jobs but not for the locals. Also, allegations of corruption were made, and they tied in with The Switch. After the demonstrators allegedly tried to remove Sogavare from power by storming the parliament, Australia sent in 100 members of riot police and armed forces on November 25th. After Australia sent its peacekeeper detachment, New Zealand followed suit on December 1st. Towards the end of December, China started sending in riot controlling gear and police advisors after the request of PM Sogavare. Remember this because it’ll be important.
Not only hasn’t The Switch been popular, but it’s also tearing the whole country: Malaita, the most populous province of Solomon Islands, has resisted and even organized a referendum on independence that the Solomon Islands central government dismissed. In particular, the premier of Malaita, Daniel Suidani, has been very much against The Switch. In an interview with China Uncensored, he said that The Switch was bad already because of the fact that the Solomon Islands is a democracy and China is not. Suidani also said that the Chinese government tried to bribe him. When Suidani traveled to Taiwan to get treatment for his brain cancer, he became disliked by the central government of the Solomon Islands.
In March 2022, someone leaked a draft of a defense deal with China, and that made Australia and New Zealand very worried since the agreement would pretty much mean that the People’s Liberation Army (the army of the Chinese Communist Party, not the country’s) could send its navy to dock in Solomon Islands indefinitely. China has probably eyed the Solomon Islands for a long time since the country has a lot of places for deepwater ports, and China is pretty interested in those since they can be used for naval bases and as pitch stops for freight vessels.
Now, remember when I said that Beijing sent not only equipment but also advisors to the Solomon Islands to put down the demonstrations? That last one should be scary since not only was China sending in its means of clamping down on dissent, but it also sent in the know-how. China is exporting its way of silencing democracy. And it’s targeting relatively young nations where the poverty of ordinary people gives them a real reason to demand a change. But what if you’re a corrupt government official or politician who just wants to cling to your cozy job? Ask China for help! Their system works like the way you want yours to work: so that their corrupt politicians get to skim off the benefits of development when the majority.
And, of course, it’s not enough that China exports its authoritarianism; it’s also reaching out militarily by eying territories that might be beneficial when threatening countries that don’t like what China does and then have the guts to say it out loud. Luckily for the liberal and open democracy, there’re people like Suidani who are willing to speak out and actually defend our values rather than just greedily follow the Renminbis. The Solomon Islands is a warning example of China’s growing influence, and it’s taking place in the Pacific, a region you don’t hear about unless something has gone wrong, like now. Fortunately, countries like the USA have awakened to this and the US is opening its embassy in the Solomon Islands again after over two decades.