{"id":76912,"date":"2022-12-05T06:00:09","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T19:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=76912"},"modified":"2022-12-05T09:14:27","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T22:14:27","slug":"the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/","title":{"rendered":"The politics of South Pacific riots"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

A riot in a South Pacific city is a political act as well as a spree of violence and looting.<\/p>\n

The urban riot is an extreme expression of political and economic failure in the islands. Riots are unusual but happen often enough that they\u2019re not unprecedented. A riot is a dark and recurring element of regional life.<\/p>\n

A South Pacific riot mixes excitement, grievances and unemployed young people. Stir in the lure of loot and fuel it with alcohol.<\/p>\n

A riot can sadden even as it shocks.<\/p>\n

Sadness was the emotion that framed the shock in 2006 when I stood amid the burnt-out aftermath of Chinatown in Honiara: Solomon Islands had done this to itself.<\/p>\n

Sadness mixed with shock was what I felt in 2000 when stepping through the smashed glass and trashed equipment of the Fiji One television station. A mob of 200 Fijians had just attacked the station because earlier that night it had broadcast a program criticising the coup leaders occupying Fiji\u2019s parliament. In that violent Suva night, a policeman was shot and murdered. This was riot as politics written in blood.<\/p>\n

In understanding the South Pacific, urban riots are on the outer edges of policy maps for economics, politics, community, security and policing. In the way of topics that are dramatic and difficult, riots find the gaps between the policies.<\/p>\n

Kudos to the Australia Pacific Security College<\/a> for an important mapping effort with its first discussion paper, Riots in the Pacific: control and change<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>The author, Anouk Ride, observes: \u2018Riots are not just events to \u201ccontrol\u201d but conflicts that need \u201cchange\u201d in order to prevent its patterns being painted on the streets of Pacific urban areas again and again.\u2019<\/p>\n

Ride catalogues 13 riots from January 2006 to December 2021, in Papua New Guinea (8), Solomon Islands (3), Vanuatu (1) and Tonga (1).<\/p>\n

Rioters express \u2018deprivations and economic exclusion,\u2019 Ride notes, by attacking their own government or foreign-owned businesses. \u2018Despite the intersection between grievances over governance and foreign influence,\u2019 she finds, \u2018government buildings are targeted far less than foreign owned businesses.\u2019<\/p>\n

The \u2018perceived wealth of foreign migrants versus Indigenous peoples,\u2019 she says, \u2018has been a feature of mass violence in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.\u2019<\/p>\n

In listing \u2018grievances\u2019 that caused riots, one of Ride\u2019s main categories is defined as \u2018foreigners and economic benefits\u2019. And when the riot comes, she notes, key targets are \u2018Asian shops\u2019 and \u2018Asian businesses\u2019. The \u2018foreigner\u2019 grievance and the \u2018Asian shops\u2019 targeting are applied to five of the PNG riots, all three of the Solomon Islands riots (2006, 2019 and 2021) and the one in Tonga in 2006.<\/p>\n

In the islands, the \u2018foreigners\u2019 are usually Chinese and the Asian shops are Chinese.<\/p>\n

To express the reality in blunter language than Ride uses, a South Pacific riot is often racist. The Chinese are targeted because they\u2019re rich. But riches or race, it\u2019s still an anti-Chinese riot.<\/p>\n

Ride says the November 2021 Honiara riot \u2018dramatised the security ramifications of geopolitics\u2019, with protests directed at the \u2018national government\u2019s increasingly close ties with China and a perception of government favouritism towards Chinese businesses\u2019.<\/p>\n

Raiding and robbing Chinese shops \u2018is a common feature among riots across the Pacific\u2019, she writes, \u2018with Asian businesses being targeted in 69 per cent of all riot events. In Tonga, Solomon Islands, and PNG rioters targeted Asian businesses, burning and looting them, often following protests over corruption and unpopular government decisions.\u2019<\/p>\n

The anti-Chinese message of the rioters is well understood by the rest of island communities, even as the racism and violence are abhorred.<\/p>\n

For recent academic work dealing with this topic, see Denghua Zhang\u2019s survey of \u2018China\u2019s influence and local perceptions\u2019<\/a> in PNG, Fiji and Tonga. China\u2019s \u2018influence on Pacific civil society is weak\u2019, Zhang writes, because of \u2018concerns about Chinese small businesses\u2019 and \u2018lack of job opportunities for locals and dumping of Chinese goods\u2019. The Australian National University last year published The China alternative: changing regional order in the Pacific islands<\/em><\/a>, including chapters titled \u2018On-the-ground tensions with Chinese traders in PNG\u2019 and \u2018The shifting fate of China\u2019s Pacific diaspora\u2019.<\/p>\n

As Richard Herr argues in his 2019 ASPI report, Chinese influence in the Pacific islands: the yin and yang of soft power<\/em><\/a>, China\u2019s soft-power reach \u2018lacks breadth and depth\u2019.<\/p>\n

China can demand much of island governments, while on the streets Chinese citizens have much to fear.<\/p>\n

In the Beijing\u2013Canberra contest, China makes ambitious offers to South Pacific states. Australia\u2019s great counteroffer<\/a> can be to South Pacific people. The people dimension must define Australia\u2019s effort for the islands.<\/p>\n

A South Pacific riot, however, is a clash between the people and their own state.<\/p>\n

Ride describes the dilemma confronting Australia if it steps up to help restore order:<\/p>\n

Grievances behind riots generally have widespread support amongst populations where they occur. For those who lose out in riots, notably foreign businesses, and government offices, and for those who felt under personal threat, notably political leaders, foreign forces will be welcomed. But for those who want governments to respond to grievances, such as pro-democracy and anti-corruption campaigners as well as the politically and economically marginalised, foreign forces can be seen as supporting the current political regime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The recipe she offers Canberra is the need for clear communication about the purpose, duration and conduct of any Australian operation. What I\u2019d call Ride\u2019s \u2018tough love\u2019 option is for Australia to ponder \u2018whether interventions are needed at all\u2019. And will intervention actually help \u2018the underlying conflict conditions\u2019?<\/p>\n

Applying tough love would require a hard heart to go with the diplomatic toughness. When Honiara was burning in November last year, Australia acted rapidly and had forces on the ground within days. The immediate response was right.<\/p>\n

Canberra ran two lines of argument: it was acting to \u2018provide stability and security\u2019<\/a> in Honiara, but it wasn\u2019t trying \u2018to\u00a0intervene in the internal affairs\u00a0of the Solomon Islands\u2019.<\/p>\n

Personal security is now an issue for the capital city elites of the South Pacific; it\u2019s no longer just a Port Moresby syndrome. That\u2019s a fact of life for those who run government, the professionals and those who do business. They must worry about the safety of their homes and stores and the security of their families.<\/p>\n

The Pacific still has strong societies and weak states, but the small middle class can no longer be as confident in the social and religious conservatism that has underpinned island stability.<\/p>\n

History says the riots will come again. The South Pacific knows the shock of the destruction and the deaths.<\/p>\n

Ride concludes that the security or \u2018control\u2019 response is only part of the answer. Act before the riot, she says, to deal with the grievances and resolve the conflicts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A riot in a South Pacific city is a political act as well as a spree of violence and looting. The urban riot is an extreme expression of political and economic failure in the islands. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":76914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[357,376,3412,228,99],"class_list":["post-76912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-papua-new-guinea","tag-politics","tag-riots","tag-solomon-islands","tag-south-pacific"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe politics of South Pacific riots | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The politics of South Pacific riots | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A riot in a South Pacific city is a political act as well as a spree of violence and looting. The urban riot is an extreme expression of political and economic failure in the islands. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-04T19:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-04T22:14:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1236809500.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"661\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1236809500.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1236809500.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":661,\"caption\":\"TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from a burnt out buildings in Honiara's Chinatown on November 26, 2021 after two days of rioting which saw thousands ignore a government lockdown order, torching several buildings around the Chinatown district including commercial properties and a bank branch. (Photo by CHARLEY PIRINGI \/ AFP) (Photo by CHARLEY PIRINGI\/AFP via Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/\",\"name\":\"The politics of South Pacific riots | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-04T19:00:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-04T22:14:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The politics of South Pacific riots\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\",\"name\":\"Graeme Dobell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Graeme Dobell\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The politics of South Pacific riots | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The politics of South Pacific riots | The Strategist","og_description":"A riot in a South Pacific city is a political act as well as a spree of violence and looting. The urban riot is an extreme expression of political and economic failure in the islands. ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2022-12-04T19:00:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-04T22:14:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":661,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1236809500.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Graeme Dobell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Graeme Dobell","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1236809500.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1236809500.jpg","width":1024,"height":661,"caption":"TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from a burnt out buildings in Honiara's Chinatown on November 26, 2021 after two days of rioting which saw thousands ignore a government lockdown order, torching several buildings around the Chinatown district including commercial properties and a bank branch. (Photo by CHARLEY PIRINGI \/ AFP) (Photo by CHARLEY PIRINGI\/AFP via Getty Images)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/","name":"The politics of South Pacific riots | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2022-12-04T19:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-04T22:14:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-politics-of-south-pacific-riots\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The politics of South Pacific riots"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f","name":"Graeme Dobell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Graeme Dobell"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76912"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76912"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76928,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76912\/revisions\/76928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}