China’s foreign minister blames ‘forces with ulterior motives’ for Solomon Islands riots

Name: Solomon Islands riot sets Chinatown ablaze in capital Honiara as protests turn violent
Uploaded: 2021-12-17T06:05:46.000Z
Duration: 1 min 57 s
Description: Solomon Islands riot sets Chinatown ablaze in capital Honiara as protests turn violent

In their first exchange since the violence erupted last month, foreign ministers from Beijing and Honiara talked up their nations’ relationship

Wang Yi said China would support the Solomons to restore order, rebuild and reach stable development

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Parts of the Chinatown district in Honiara were ablaze after rioters torched buildings in the Solomon Islands capital on November 25 during anti-government protests. Photo: AFP

Kinling Lo

Published: 2:05pm, 17 Dec 2021Updated: 5:55pm, 17 Dec 2021

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has accused “forces with ulterior motives” of inciting riots in the Solomon Islands last month, which have been blamed in part on discontent with China.

Wang made the remarks during the first official exchange with his counterpart in the Pacific Islands country after the unrest in late November, when the Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was accused of using money from a national development fund that comes from China. Sogavare has rejected allegations of corruption.

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Solomon Islands riot sets Chinatown ablaze in capital Honiara as protests turn violent

“The riots erupted under a complicated background. Some forces with ulterior motives took the chance to smear China-Solomon Islands relations and attempted to subvert the outcomes achieved since the establishment of our bilateral ties. It does not comply with the interest of Solomon Islands’ people at all and is doomed to fail,” Wang said in a phone conversation on Thursday, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.

Wang said China was confident in the future of its bilateral relations and would take “measures to support and assist Solomon Islands in restoring order and reconstruction, and achieving stable development”.

China and the Solomon Islands established official bilateral relations when the Solomons switched its allegiance to Beijing from Taiwan in September 2019.

The riots have raised the alarm on how Pacific nations are reacting to Beijing’s efforts to poach the few remaining diplomatic allies of Taiwan, a self-ruled island which China sees as a breakaway province.