Page 5 - IB December 2023

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Manasseh Sogavare has all the hallmarks of the quintessential rabble rouser.
He is belligerent, he knows what he wants, and he knows he’s in a position to get
what he wants. It helps his cause that he’s no diplomat or statesman. Neither does
Managing Director / Publisher
Netani Rika he pretend to be one.
He’s the leader of a country that, in 2003, descended into the complete chaos of
General Manager civil unrest that needed the intervention of RAMSI – a regional assistance mission led
Samantha Magick by Australia to restore peace and order to the Solomon Islands.
Twenty years later, the Solomons has just finished hosting the 2023 Pacific Games
Editor
Richard Naidu amid much fanfare and praise for a smoothly delivered regional sports extravaganza.
Sogavare has reason to celebrate. In anticipation of next year’s general elections as
Reporter well, held off until after the Games.
Kite Pareti Of course, there’s been heaps of aid money to help – the biggest source have been
the Chinese who built the stadium for the Games.
Designer And he makes no apologies about that either. He made it clear during a much-
Dick Lee vaunted State visit to China this year that his priority was development. And whoever
would make that happen for his country was a friend.
Contributors The Solomons is the cause of more than a slight vexation in the South Pacific. It’s
Jon Fraenkel growing friendship with China has had both the Australians and the Americans worried.
Priestley Habru Among other things, a security pact allows Chinese police domestic involvement in
Savenaca Kadavi the event of instability.
Patricia Kailola Sogavare has mastered the art of being seen to at once snub and then court Western
Nic Maclellan allies – while maintaining his dalliance with the Chinese and inadvertently, keeping
George Rubine a finger on the soaring geopolitical thermostat in the region, almost singlehandedly.
Sangeeta Rubine Political pragamatism? Astuteness? Or pure opportunism? Without a doubt, a
mixture of all of these and then some.
The nature of the beast being what it is, there can never really be a discussion
of the merits and demerits of politicians. To his credit, Sogavare may just be the
politician who’s not afraid to act like one, instead of being cloaked in the often-
Islands Business is published monthly by indecipherable double-speak of agenda-ridden politics disguised as statecraft. As is
Front Page Pte Limited common to those of his ilk.
Editorial & Advertising Offices
GPO Box 12718, Suva, Fiji Islands Any perceived “villainy” is the disadvantage of being framed in the Western-driven
Tel: +679 9719660 geopolitical narrative – couched in the strategic denial approach of Australia and the
broader “Indo-Pacific” security framing of its ally, the United States.
Emails All said and done, Sogavare finds himself uniquely positioned in the currents of
Editorial: editor@islandsbusiness.com time. Whether or not that will end up making him a force of history, for now, he holds
richard@islandsbusiness.com
Subscriptions: subs@islandsbusiness.com centre stage for his paradoxical, temperamental-driven politics and his mercurial,
Advertising: marketing@islandsbusiness.com wax-and-wane regional drive that keeps the big guys guessing.
There’s no one who comes close enough to ticking so many big boxes for being the
Printing: Islands Business Pacific Person of the Year.
Printhouse Pacific Pte Limited, Suva, Fiji Islands
Until next month,

February 2022 FJD $8
www.islandsbusiness.com
Richard

richard@islandsbusiness.com
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Islands Business, December 2023 5