EXPLAINER: Is China to blame for Solomon Islands unrest?

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Solomon Islands’ decision to switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing has been blamed for arson and looting in the national capital Honiara, where protesters are demanding the prime minister’s resignation. Australian police, troops and diplomats are helping local police restore peace and order while trying to keep out of the domestic political dispute. But despite the China factor, experts say the unrest is driven by the same underlying causes that have undermined the social fabric of the Pacific islands for decades. They include inter-island and ethnic tensions, a perceived lack of sharing of resources between the Solomons’ largest island of Guadalcanal and the most populous Malaita, plus widespread poverty and high youth unemployment.