Solomon Islands Prime Minister and outgoing Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) chair Matthew Wale has made a shock departure from the PIF leaders meeting, flying out of Palau just hours after arriving, in order to deal with a looming leadership challenge back home.
Mr Wale's political coalition was shaken yesterday after Solomon Islands Home Affairs Minister Manasseh Maelanga announced he had filed a no-confidence motion to topple Mr Wale, who has only been in the top job for three months.
In his motion, Mr Maelanga accused Mr Wale of "repeatedly making decisions of matters of national importance without proper consultation with, or the approval of, cabinet, thereby undermining the principles of collective cabinet responsibility, representative democracy and good governance".
Mr Maelanga was one of Mr Wale's main challengers for the top job this year, and has held a senior position in his cabinet since then.
"Whatever the outcome, I am confident that our country will move forward peacefully, government services will continue, and members will work together in the national interest," Mr Maelanga said in statement released this afternoon.
But his arguments echo many of those made by the Solomon Islands opposition, whose leader, former prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, has accused Mr Wale of bulldozing through major changes without consulting properly with parliament or the electorate.
Mr Wale appeared to be shaken by the news on arrival in Palau on Saturday night, and declined to comment on the challenge when asked about it by reporters.
The ABC understands Mr Wale left Palau early on Sunday morning and is due to arrive back in Solomon Islands on Monday.
Two of Mr Wale's key lieutenants in his coalition — Foreign Minister Rick Hou and Peter Kenilorea Jr — will now represent Solomon Islands at the meeting.
Mr Kenilorea Jr said in Palau late yesterday that he "had no idea as to why" the challenge was launched.
The news is a blow to the PIF, which is already facing a large number of absent leaders at this year's gathering.
Kiribati President Taneti Maamau announced yesterday he would not attend, and that his nation would be represented instead by its ambassador to China.
Organisers say Mr Maamau could not get flights to Palau to attend PIF while also attending a parliamentary sitting, but New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his decision was "hugely disappointing" and suggested the president should have found a way to travel.
"The question at hand is that flights weren't available [for Mr Maamau] in a parliamentary sitting," he said.
"We've all got to organise ourselves around these matters to get here.
"The centrality of the Pacific Islands Forum is not going to be compromised … but it's not going to help."
When asked if there had been any evidence that foreign interference had contributed to the absence of leaders, Mr Peters made no direct allegation — and didn't name any countries — but said "you'd be defying gravity and logic if you said [it] wasn't a big problem."
Mr Peters has previously suggested that China had worked to stop PIF from issuing a clear condemnation of Beijing's recent ballistic missile test in the region.
The ABC has approached Mr Maamau's office for comment.
Samoa's Prime Minister, Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt, and Vanuatu's Prime Minister, Jotham Napat, are also not set to attend, while it is unclear whether Fiji's Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, will fly to Palau for the meeting.
The challenge will also unsettle Australia, which sees Mr Wale as far more sympathetic than his predecessors, Jeremiah Manale and Manasseh Sogavare.
Mr Wale fiercely criticised China's recent ballistic missile launch and has made it clear he is uneasy with China's security role in Solomon Islands, although he has not tried to tear up the 2022 agreement the Pacific nation signed with Beijing.
He also announced not long after taking power that he had agreed to kick off negotiations with Australia on a new treaty, with officials racing to complete the discussions by the end of this year.
Wale's departure 'unfortunate'
The incoming PIF chair, Surangel Whipps Jr, said while it was "unfortunate" Mr Wale had to leave, he understood the prime minister's decision.
He also played down the significance of looming absences, saying that up to 14 leaders were still set to make it to Palau, and that the forum was still much more united than in the era of the so-called PIF split.
"One of the things we want to focus on is … crises come up, but how can we find a way to make sure that we make — within everybody's schedule — to maximise the amount of leaders," he said.
"Because there's no question that when the leaders are all assembled we can get partners to deliver.
"More leader participation is now happening than in previous years … and we want that to continue."
