With the arrival of peacekeeping forces from Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, peace returned to the Solomon Islands after a week of arson, unrest and killings.

The islands lie in south-west Pacific Ocean, north-east to Australia and north-west to Fiji.

Clean up of China town in progress pic.twitter.com/MykJgPDg2f

— The Solomon Islands Herald (@IslandsHerald) November 28, 2021

Riots in capital Honiara last week targeted Chinese businesses and burnt down most of Chinatown. The rioters also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare for his announcement about switching relations from Taiwan to China.

Australia sent its police and troops after a request from Prime Minister Sogavare after protestors tried to storm the parliament and attacked his residence, demanding that he speak with them over his foreign policy decision. 

Experts say that the riots were over ethnic tensions and deprivation than over foreign relations. The unrest also shows simmering tensions over unemployment, poverty and crowded housing in a country of nearly 6.5 lakh people. Since its independence from the UK, the country has not seen much peace or prosperity.

The riots began after a group, Malaita for Democracy. from the island of Malaita–one of the most populous provinces of the archipelago, arrived at capital Honiara seeking to speak with the Prime Minister over his decision to formally recognise China. The group rioted after the Prime Minister did not address them.

Ranadi side, East Honiara.
Damaged to property continue to happen.

Please keep safe. pic.twitter.com/yRSSktOSVQ

— The Solomon Islands Herald (@IslandsHerald) November 25, 2021

Sogavare has blamed foreign powers for the tensions over his decision to recognise China. In an interview to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sogavare said: “I feel sorry for my people in Malaita because they are fed with false and deliberate lies about the switch”.

The Pacific Ocean has a number of small islands States which have been switching their allegiances under the sway of powers like China and USA, sometimes even Taiwan.

Taiwan has said that it had no role in the unrest in the islands.

However, in a statement in 2019 it had accused China of bribing politicians through "… dollar diplomacy and false promises of large amounts of foreign assistance to buy off a small number of politicians, so as to ensure that the government of Solomon Islands adopted a resolution to terminate relations with Taiwan…"

Commenting on the unrest, China issued a cryptic statement stressing that the "one-China principle is a norm governing international relations and an invincible trend with overwhelming popular support. The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Solomon Islands is a correct choice in keeping with the trend of the times that can stand the test of history".

With communist China flexing its muscles in a multipolar world, unease is spreading in a big swathe from the Sea of Japan to the South China Sea and the Pacific island territories.