HONIARA - New Solomon Islands Prime Minister Snyder Rini said he is confident he will defeat Wednesday's vote of no confidence, moved by opposition parties after his election sparked rioting in the South Pacific nation.
The impoverished archipelago's parliament met amid tight security on Tuesday for the second time since more than 1,500 people gathered to protest against Rini's election a week ago by a secret parliamentary ballot, throwing rocks at police.
The protest spiralled into widespread looting, targeting the tiny Chinese business population in the capital, Honiara, before the arrival of hundreds of troops from Australia and New Zealand and a dusk-to-dawn curfew quelled the violence.
Parliament is evenly divided with 25 MPs each for the government and opposition, but two opposition MPs have been charged in relation with the riots and remanded in custody.
"I'm confident the motion will be beaten so that my government will continue with the work of rebuilding our beloved Solomon Islands," Rini told a news conference.
Some Solomon Islanders fear that a defeat of the no-confidence motion could spark more protests.
"I think some people will want to fight again ... but I hope the security will keep it under control," Hilda Waetai said as she set up her coconut oil stall.
The opposition boycotted a vote for the deputy speaker of the parliament on Tuesday and complained that parliament had been "hijacked" by the police and military security operation.
The rioting in Honiara was fuelled by rumours that aid money from Taiwan was used to help elect Rini and that his government is heavily influenced by local Chinese businessmen.
The city's Chinatown was destroyed, with buildings burnt to the ground. Hundreds of Chinese took shelter with the Red Cross before fleeing the country.
The Solomons, like other Pacific island countries, has been caught up in a battle for diplomatic influence between China and Taiwan, which split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. The Solomons officially recognises Taiwan, but China is trying to lure it and Taiwan's other diplomatic allies away.
Solomons voters ousted half their parliament in a national election in early April, but it wasn't enough to unseat the government. Corruption was the major election issue.
An Australian-led peacekeeping force which landed in the Solomons in 2003 to stop ethnic fighting has been reinforced following the latest unrest, bringing the number to almost 900.
Australia has repeatedly said it is determined not to let the Solomons, a chain of 992 islands, become a failed state and possible terrorist haven.
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