Manele elected PM in Solomon Islands
Philippines summons Chinese Embassy official
MELBOURNE, Australia, May 2, (Agencies): Solomon Islands lawmakers elected former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele as prime minister Thursday in a development that suggests the South Pacific island nation will maintain close ties with China.
Manele used his first speech as leader to promise to govern with integrity and to put his nation’s interests first.
“I will discharge my duties diligently and with integrity. I will at all times put the interests of our people and country above all other interests,” Manele said in a speech outside the National Parliament of Solomon Islands.
Manele won 31 votes in a secret ballot of 49 lawmakers who won general elections on April 17, Governor General David Vunagi said, while Matthew Wale, who led the opposition in the previous parliament, received the remaining 18.
The withdrawal of pro-Beijing former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare from the contest to make way for Manele as their party’s candidate indicated the country could follow a similar direction.
Sogavare had hoped to become the first Solomons prime minister to maintain power in consecutive four-year terms following the election. During his previous term, China’s influence increased more in the Solomons than anywhere else in the South Pacific.
Sogavare switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region.
In his speech, Manele also urged against any post-election violence.
“Past prime minister’s elections have been met with the act of violence and destruction. Our economy and livelihoods have suffered because of this violence,” Manele said.
“However, today we show the world that we are better than that. We must respect and uphold the democratic process of electing our prime minister and set an example for our children and their children,” he added.
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KUALA LUMPUR: The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned a senior official at the Chinese Embassy in Manila Thursday over recent “harassment of Philippine vessels” in the South China Sea, describing the harassment as “dangerous maneuvers.”
DFA clarified in a statement that it summoned the number two official at the “Chinese Embassy of Manila Depu
ty Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong over the 30 April 2024 harassment of Philippine vessels conducting a routine and regular humanitarian mission to Bajo de Masinloc.”
“The Philippines protested the harassment, ramming, swarming, shadowing and blocking, dangerous maneuvers, use of water cannons, and other aggressive actions of China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels against the vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) enroute to Bajo de Masinloc,” it said in a statement.
SYDNEY: A judge denied bail Thursday to a 15-year-old boy alleged to be in a network planning terrorist acts and who claimed to be a friend of another teen accused of stabbing a Sydney bishop last month.
The attack on the bishop triggered an investigation that led to the arrests of six teens, ages 14 to 17, who were charged last week with a range of offenses including conspiring to engage in or planning a terrorist act. All remain in custody.
The 15-year-old boy’s lawyer Ahmed Dib had applied for bail Wednesday in the Parramatta Children’s Court, arguing there were exceptional circumstances that required his client’s release.
The boy was already in custody on an assault charge when the terrorismrelated charge was added Friday.
Earlier last week, he was accused of being part of group that threw rocks at a store employee. The boy allegedly threw a wooden plank that narrowly missed his intended target. The boy was allegedly carrying a knife at the time.