CCP ‘Suppressing the Truth and Spreading Lies’ in Solomon Islands: Australian Think Tank

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspect honour guards at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

The regime in Beijing is spreading false information in the Solomon Islands in an attempt to undermine the Pacific nation’s partnerships with Australia and the United States, a report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) says.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used local media and disinformation to sway public opinion and undermine the Solomons’ existing partnerships with countries such as Australia and the United States during mass protests in its capital last year, according to the report, titled “Suppressing the Truth and Spreading Lies: How the CCP is influencing Solomon Islands’ information environment” and published on Oct. 5.

During a November 2021 protest, hundreds of demonstrators massed outside the Parliament building in Honiara to protest stalled economic development, government corruption, and cronyism.

The protestors raised concerns about the CCP’s growing influence in the country and demanded the ouster of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who switched the nation’s diplomatic allegiance to Beijing from Taiwan. Authorities’ heavy-handed response led to rioting that included the looting and burning of shops in Honiara’s Chinatown.

This photo shows the aftermath of a looted street in Honiara's Chinatown, Solomon Islands, on Nov. 27, 2021. (Piringi Charley/AP Photo)

CCP Blames US, Australia, Taiwan for Unrest

In the immediate aftermath of the Honiara riots, the CCP tried to blame Australia, the United States, and Taiwan for inciting the unrest, according to the report.

“In the weeks that followed, CCP officials were also active in pushing a narrative that ‘foreign forces with ulterior motives’ were aiming to smear the relationship between the Solomon Islands and China,” an ASPI statement says.

“That narrative was pushed through party-state media (both in English and in Chinese) through statements from Chinese officials that were shared by the Chinese Embassy, published in local media outlets, and quoted by local journalists,” reads the report.

US, Australia Described as ‘Colonialist Bullies’

After a proposed security agreement between the CCP and the Solomon Islands was leaked online in March, the communist regime “sought to further undermine Solomon Islands’ relations with Australia and the US.”

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, right, locks arms with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on May 26, 2022. (Xinhua via AP)

At the time, the United States and Australia sought high-level meetings with Sogavare to discuss their concerns about the security agreement. Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, saying it would be a sign of “weakness.”

At the same time, the CCP pushed a similar narrative that “Australia and the U.S. were colonialist bullies that were threatening Solomon Islands’ sovereignty.”

Over the two observed periods (18 weeks in total), the CCP’s party-state media outlets published a total of 67 articles about events in the Solomon Islands. Forty-seven of the articles (70 percent) directly supported the CCP’s narratives attempting to undermine Solomon Islands’ existing relationships (predominantly with the United States and Australia), while the rest reported on the issue without a clear agenda.

Party-state media headlines about the November 2021 riots and the China – Solomon Islands security agreement. (ASPI)

CCP’s Influence on Local Media

According to ASPI’s analysis, the CCP’s most concerned channel of influence in shaping the Solomons’ information environment was “the publication of CCP official–led articles in local media,” which included opinion pieces, press releases, and locally produced articles that contained almost no direct quotes from CCP officials.

“These publications came wrapped in the packaging of a trusted local media source and allowed the CCP to spread its message to a wider audience, resulting in greater penetration and engagement,” the report reads.

“In this case of the Honiara riots, CCP officials had almost as many statements published in local media discussing the cause of the riots as the Solomon Islands’ own government officials.”

The report authors also found that the Chinese Embassy is in close contact with several media outlets in the Solomon Islands.

For instance, the China–Solomon Islands Friendship Association, which is part of the CCP’s United Front system, was found to have ties with some Solomon Islands policymakers and journalists.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspect honor guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

What’s the Solution?

In response to disinformation campaigns by the CCP, the ASPI analysts encourage social media companies to provide contextual information on misinformation in national Pacific languages and label state affiliations on messages from state-controlled entities.

“Social media companies could encourage civil society to report state affiliations and provide evidence to help companies enforce their policies,” the report reads.

The authors also called for the U.S. and Australian governments to offer more support.

“Pacific island countries will need support as great-power competition intensifies in the region,” they wrote.

“The US, for example, can do more to demonstrate that the CCP’s narratives are false, such as proving Washington’s genuine interest in supporting the region by answering the call of the local Solomon Islands population to do more to clean up remaining unexploded World War II ordnance on Guadalcanal.

“The Australian Government should coordinate with other foreign partners of the Solomon Islands, including the US, New Zealand, Japan, and the EU, to further assist local Pacific media outlets in hiring, training and retaining high-quality professional journalists.”

A Navy Force helicopter under the Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) takes part in military exercises in the waters around Taiwan, at an undisclosed location on Aug. 8, 2022. (Eastern Theatre Command/Handout via Reuters)

Similarly, a Taiwanese academic also urged Australia to heed Beijing’s “dangerous expansion” and assume more responsibility in the Pacific.

“What a good relationship the Solomon Islands [used to] have with Australia! But no matter how good you treat it, the CCP would bribe [its officials],” David Yeau-Tarn Lee, an adjunct professor at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of National Chengchi University, previously told The Epoch Times.

“It’d be inevitable for Australia to face the consequence of [the CCP’s] dangerous expansion,” he said. “So I think Australia needs to awaken further.

“It plays an important role in the confrontation between liberal democracy and autocracy.”