A leadership change in the Solomon Islands will lock the strategic Pacific Island nation into its recently established pro-China bent for at least the next parliamentary term, though the country will continue to play China against Australia and the United States to extract maximum benefits from the great power competition. Securing the support of 31 of 50 lawmakers, former Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele was sworn in as the country's new prime minister on May 2, replacing outgoing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, both of the incumbent Ownership, Unity and Responsibility (Our) Party. The Our Party severely underperformed in the country's April 17 election relative to its 2019 electoral showing, winning only 15 of the parliament's 50 seats compared with the 30 it won five years ago. This forced Our Party to reach a coalition deal with smaller parties and independents to appoint Manele while avoiding an opposition victory that...
