The opposition leader of the Solomon Islands has called the national government’s security deal with Beijing unnecessary for pacifying internal and external threats—saying any civil unrest was sorely the fault of the national government. Matthew Wale said secrecy around the deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was an “escalation by Prime Minister (Manasseh) Sogavare…

The Chinese military deal with the Solomon Islands, which will allow the stationing of Chinese police, troops, and weapons in the region, is “ready for signing,” according to Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. His comments come in a fiery address to the Pacific nation’s Parliament on March 29, where the embattled prime minister attempted to justify…

Matthew Wale, the prominent opposition party leader in the Solomon Islands, claims to have warned Australian officials last year that Beijing and the Sogavare government were working on a military deal that would allow the People’s Liberation Army to base assets in the region. The deal, which surprised officials last week, was revealed after it…

Australia and New Zealand should adopt a hands-off approach to the Solomon Islands and leave embattled Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to deal with Beijing-linked bribery allegations and deep dissatisfaction with his rule, according to a South Pacific expert. Cleo Paskal, an associate fellow of the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House, said last November’s intervention from…