Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has defended his move to block almost two dozen nations from a critical Pacific meeting in Honiara next month, saying he made a “sovereign” decision in the region’s best interests.
Solomon Islands under pressure over Taiwan
Multiple Pacific and Australian government sources have said Mr Manele has cancelled a gathering with dialogue partners at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting in September because he wants to avoid a damaging stoush over Taiwan’s participation.
His decision means the high-profile meeting will effectively be limited to PIF members, which includes Australia, New Zealand and a host of Pacific nations.
But the prime minister insisted he was only “deferring” the dialogue because a bureaucratic overhaul of how PIF nations deal with outside countries during the leaders meeting was “unfortunately … not ready” in time for the meeting in Honiara.
“What we are saying here is give us some more time for the region to put the new processes in place, so we can engage more effectively with our partners,” he said.
“The centrality of the PIF is important.”
Mr Manele also took a thinly veiled swipe at overseas media outlets that have been reporting on Taiwan tensions in the lead-up to the decision, saying they were driving their own “narratives”.
“The Pacific region must always lead, drive and own their own agenda and not be distracted by divisive issues pushed by external media,” he said.
The Pacific Islands Forum is the biggest dialogue of the year in the Pacific.
“We acknowledge public concern and media narratives regarding Forum matters, but let me be very clear: Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation.”
“Our government acts in the best interests of our nation and the region.”
Solomon Islands has drawn close to China, which has been pressing Pacific nations to break with a decades-long precedent and block Taiwan from attending PIF leaders meetings.
Several regional officials have told the ABC that Mr Manele has been under pressure from China on the issue, and the prime minister devised this compromise in order to avoid antagonising either Beijing or the three Pacific nations that still maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Solomon Islands PM Jeremiah Manele says there was no external pressure and he is acting in the best interests of the region. (AAP: Ben McKay)
But the prime minister said he was simply trying to honour the “spirit” of the last PIF meeting, where leaders said they wanted the new “tiered” arrangement to be implemented in time for this year’s gathering in Honiara.
“We are not under pressure from any external forces,” he said.
Mixed reactions from dialogue partners
Mr Manele also said decisions relating to the PIF leaders meeting should be made “collectively” — despite the fact only a handful of Pacific leaders have so far backed his proposal.
While Taiwan’s close ally Palau has publicly supported Solomon Islands’ decision, other Pacific leaders — including New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and PNG Prime Minister James Marape — have expressed unease.
New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon expressed unease at the decision while there were mixed reactions from other nations’ leaders. (Reuters: Kim Hong-Ji)
Mr Manele said restricting the meeting to PIF members would also help them focus on core regional issues of “paramount importance” like climate financing and the Ocean of Peace proposal put forward by Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
No dialogue partners have yet publicly responded to Mr Manele’s proposal, although the ABC has been told the United States is very unhappy with its exclusion.Â
China has so far remained publicly silent on the issue, while Taiwan has called on PIF to “maintain its existing arrangements” with partners.
Mr Manele said his “message” to PIF development partners was that they were “valued” but that Pacific nations needed “time” and “space” this year.
“We understand this decision requires sacrifice,” he said.
“Please be assured we continue to value your engagement and support to this region and recognise the vital role you play.”
He also suggested dialogue partners might be welcome to Solomon Islands next year if the new dialogue partner mechanism was finalised in time, although he said that would depend on how quickly officials could implement it.