Solomon Islands
An inside look at the role of media in Solomon Islands’ national security landscape
While Solomon Islands has been in the international media due to security threats and agreements in the last few years, the relations between local media and national…
The disproportionate attention on the Solomons-China security pact
In his statement delivered during the March 2022 parliament session, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare described the then recently revealed security pact between…
Questions about Australian aid to fund the Pacific Games
The 2023 Pacific Games will be held in Solomon Islands at the end of the year. Australia’s support for the games of $17 million was announced by the Minister for International…
Not the Indo-Pacific: a Melanesian view on strategic competition
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare recently affirmed his country’s adherence to the “friend to all, enemy to none” foreign policy ideal. He, like other Melanesian…
Chinese aid to the Pacific: decreasing, but not disappearing
Chinese engagement in the Pacific regularly hit the headlines in 2022, sometimes with dire warnings. The recent China–Solomon Islands security agreement sent shock waves across…
Weaving webs of statecraft in the Pacific Islands
The April 2022 news that China and Solomon Islands had entered into a security pact solidified perceptions that Australia and its partners were in a race with China for “influence…
How to Interpret 2022: Solomon Islands strikes a deal
Rarely have the affections of a sparsely populated archipelagic state been so wooed as those of Solomon Islands – the string of southwest Pacific isles sitting 2,000 kilometres…
Riots serve an unexpected lesson in the Pacific
“Do you think there will be riots today?” is a common question I get in my message box each time there are political controversies in Solomon Islands.
A number of colleagues…
Commentary
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is coming to Australia. What should we expect from his visit?
Originally published in The Conversation.
Why Indonesia’s engagement with Pacific countries matters
Last week, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi wrapped up a brief official visit to Fiji and Solomon Islands. On her agenda, apart from the usual high-level bilateral…