The leader of the Solomon Islands has survived a vote of no confidence in parliament following riots in the capital city last month.
Prime minister Manasseh Sogavare told MPs in a fiery 90-minute speech that he had done nothing wrong and would not bow down to “the forces of evil” or to “Taiwan’s agents”.
At one point he picked up his chair and banged it on the Parliament floor to emphasise a point.
In the end, Mr Sogavare easily had the numbers, winning 32 votes to 15, with two abstentions.
The riots in Honiara grew from a peaceful protest and highlighted long-simmering regional rivalries, economic problems and concerns about the country’s increasing links with China.
Troops and police from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand have been helping keep the peace at the request of the Solomon Islands government.
