The Solomon Islands were international headlines after signing a secret security pact with China, but one island in the country says no.
The bridge, on the outskirts of Auki. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
There is an old bridge on the outskirts of the town of Auki in the Solomon Islands.
The “bridge of Fiu” as it is known. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
It’s an old one-lane thing, well outdated, its date of use, but it’s a critical infrastructure, the only thing connecting the north and south.
They don’t do them like that anymore. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
An improvement had long been planned and last year a company won a tender to modernize it, with the proposal to expand it to two lanes.
Sr. Suidani, Prime Minister of the Province of Malaita. (ABC News: Luke Bowland)
But for Daniel Suidani, the leader of the region where the bridge is located, there is a problem, a big one.
“The company was Chinese,” he says. “We don’t allow Chinese companies to be here.”
Suidani is a controversial figure in the Solomon Islands.
He is the leader of Malaita, the most populous province in the country; a long, unique and mysterious island about 100 kilometers north of the country’s capital, Honiara.
Mr. Suidani, a former school teacher, is new to politics, he was only elected to his post in 2019.
In the politics of the Solomon Islands, the prime ministers of their nine provinces, such as Mr. Suidani, are generally atrophied by the central government in Honiara, which is led by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and has almost autonomous power.
But Suidani is downplaying what one expert described as “an extreme example” of a prey for more self-determination.
For most Malaysians, he is a hero: a man facing China in a country that recently opened its arms to the Asian superpower.
The streets of the city of Auki. (ABC News: Luke Bowden) The streets of Auki (ABC News: luke Bowden)
In the capital, however, the government considers him a troublemaker; a man who stifles much-needed development and rekindles long-term tensions in a country that has been simmering.
When asked to describe the reasons for his anti-China stance, Suidani tries to avoid smiling. He has a long list.
The first is ‘The Switch’.
In 2019, the Solomon Islands government changed its loyalty from Taiwan to China. So Suidani created “the Auki communiqué,” banning China-backed investment in the province.
She supports and recognizes Taiwan.
And there is more.
He says the infrastructure built by the Chinese “doesn’t last.” They use the “cheap stuff” – I would prefer Japanese, Australian or New Zealand companies.
In 2019, the Lowy Institute’s analysis found that “evidence suggests that if left alone, Chinese state-owned enterprises will reduce costs and inflate prices. If managed properly, they can provide good quality infrastructure. “.
In addition, as a “Christian province,” Mr. Suidani says “atheism” in China means they can’t “walk together.”
And, once the Chinese get to a place, he says, the Pacific countries have neither the “power” nor the “safeguards” to “take care of us.” Then the Chinese “change the system.”
But perhaps more powerfully, he says he simply defends his people: the proud people of Malaita.
A hero? (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
“We are a democracy in Malaita, we believe in the principles of democracy,” Suidani says.
Villian? (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
“They are a communist nation. We are very aware of involving the Communist Party here.
“They don’t have to come, by any means.”
Or both? (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Walk through the old Chinatown
Chinese influence in the Solomon Islands is not new.
Chinese-owned and run retail stores have been in the country for decades. There are even a few in Auki, a fact that Mr. Suidani says it’s okay, as they settled “ahead of my time.”
Chinese immigration to the Solomon Islands dates back to before World War II and some of the most prominent of the Solomon Islands have Chinese heritage.
There’s even a song famous in Solomon Islands culture, Walkabout Long Chinatown, the country equivalent of Waltzing Matilda.
But since ‘The Switch’, tensions over Chinese influence in the Solomon Islands have risen.
Experts say it lacks widespread public support and many, including Suidani, accused the Chinese of bribery.
In November, angry crowds, many from Malaita, demanded the resignation of Mr Sogavare.
He refused, and parts of the city’s Chinatown were burned to the ground, with buildings waving Taiwanese flags.
“Rope” is the nickname of Mr. Sogavare, and nine months after the riots are the burned buildings and graffiti. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
While some of the mutineers simply used the riots as an opportunity to steal or create trouble, Sogavare saw it as a direct violent uprising to depose him.
Additional Australian forces were sent to help keep the peace, and later Chinese forces arrived.
Last week, Sogavare announced that the Chinese presence would be “permanent.”
Mr Suidani has been accused of fueling the fire and even playing a direct role in the riots, which he denies.
“Governments should respond to the people,” he says.
“If you keep ignoring people’s wishes, you should expect something to happen.”
At the time of the riots, he was in Taiwan receiving medical treatment, another issue that has infuriated both the Chinese government and that of the Solomon Islands.
He has continued diplomatic relations with Taiwan despite “The Switch” and controversially accepted Taiwanese aid during the COVID pandemic.
The Quiet Scenes of Auki City (ABC News: Nick Sas) The people of Auki still use canoes for transportation. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Others are concerned that Mr. Suidani, who also includes a push for independence, is fueling a long-running conflict in the country.
In 1998, the Solomon Islands entered a civil war known as “The Tensions”, an ethnic conflict between the Malays and the people of Guadalcanal, the island where Honiara is located.
Australia sent a security force known as RAMSI to quell the violence, with 7,200 soldiers and 1,700 Australian Federal Police officers making time in the country for 14 years.
Although the flash point of the conflict this time is different, Australian National University-affiliated researcher Anouk Ride says his “biggest fear” is that the violent conflict will hit the country again.
Ms Ride, an expert on conflict studies in the Solomon Islands, says many citizens feel powerless in the face of decisions made in Honiara.
Anouk Ride, originally from Australia, has been based in the Pacific for 15 years. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
On China, he says the “real problem” refers to the national government pushing “The Switch” without any real consultation.
The last elections were held in April 2019, before the change in China. The Sogavare government is trying to postpone the upcoming national elections a year after the 2023 Pacific Games, a move experts say it has fingerprints from China everywhere.
“So there has been no chance for the general population to step in and say if the government is going in the right direction,” Ms Ride says.
“This is allowing the conflict to go on fire.”
Speaking about Mr Suidani, Ms Ride says she had detractors, especially in the government, but as far as she knows, the Prime Minister has never mentioned Mr Suidani’s name in public.
He says the Malaysian prime minister has “strong support” from his people, and even from other parts of the Solomon Islands.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. A small boy paddling his canoe through Auki
“I travel through a lot of provinces and the leaders say‘ oh Suidani, he’s a good man, ’” Ms. Ride says.
“So they know him, and the ideas he represents [have] popular support.
“[As a Premier]this is quite remarkable for the Solomon Islands “.
The push for independence
On the outskirts of Auki, there is a small village called Kilo Sa Qualo.
It is a typical village of the Solomon Islands, with thatched huts, a chapel, coconut trees and a common area with grass.
Suidani is on his way to do one of his bimonthly “village tours” around the remote and vast island, a concept he introduced to “talk to people”.
The ABC joined him on the road. In the typical Pacific way, there is a wait, a long one, and after nothing a truck appears.
At the top of the tray, a band of traditional flutists begin to play their music as the villagers come out of nowhere to greet their prime minister.
Mr. Suidani does not move, according to his advisers, this type of reception is normal for the large island of Malaita 180 km long.
In the town square, a huge crowd gathers to hear their prime minister speak.
The Watching Crowd (ABC News: Luke Bowden) Find a space to watch the speech. The people of Kilo Sa Qualo (ABC News: Luke Bowden) The children of Kilo Sa Qualo (ABC News: Luke Bowden) Two children listen to the presentation. (ABC News: Luke Bowden) The children gathered to watch the speech. (ABC News: Luke Bowden) The kids started to get restless after the third hour. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
But first, there are the paperwork.
“Please represent the national anthem, oh, I mean, the provincial anthem of Malaitan,” says the MC, correcting himself.
After the anthem, Mr. Suidani gets on the podium.
His calm one-on-one behavior contrasts directly with his character on stage. His prayer is powerful and lively, talking to people and answering questions for three hours.
Topics focus on China, ‘The Switch’, the Malayan push for independence and the ‘problems’ with the Sogavare government.
Suidani spoke of the government’s attempt to delay the date of the national elections and encouraged the people to fight for it. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
“God bless Malaita, and God bless everyone,” he says, concluding his speech.
Kilo Sa Qualo is a stone’s throw from the Fiu Bridge, which Mr. Suidani prevented the Chinese from building.
The road to …