South Pacific expert Cleo Paskal has said the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is steadily moving all his chips into place before a sudden move to solidify his hold on power with the backing of Beijing.
Her comments come in response to the recent decision by the Solomons to allow U.S. Navy hospital ship, the Mercy, to visit the Pacific nation just days after a Coast Guard vessel was denied access.
Paskal, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the prime minister’s ultimate goal is to secure the support of the relevant number of MPs to pass an amendment to the Constitution that will delay next year’s slated national elections….