Divided Isles
Solomon Islands and the China Switch
Edward Acton Cavanough
Collingwood, VIC: La Trobe University Press, 2023
Paperback 304pp RRP: $36.99
Reviewer: Michael Arnold, January 2025
Ed Acton Cavanough is a freelance journalist who has reported from a range of Indo-Pacific countries including Afghanistan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste and Vanuatu. Divided Isles’ genesis was a journalistic deep dive by Acton Cavanough into the Solomon Islands’ diplomatic switch (the Switch from Taiwan to China), which was commissioned by The Guardian. Acton Cavanough provides an insightful, personalised account of the Switch’s impact on Solomons society. He spent considerable time travelling the archipelago over the last several years and clearly has a deep understanding of the country and its people.
The book examines the political machinations that led to and the consequences of the Switch from the perspective of ordinary Solomon Islanders, particularly those of Solomons’ largest ethnic group the Malaitans. Acton Cavanough analyses the actions of key players, including Malaitan political leader Daniel Suidani, and Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who initiated the Switch as well as various senior Australian politicians and government officials. The book provides a well-researched historical context, for the Switch did not occur in a vacuum.
Acton Cavanough describes how British colonisation and World War Two permanently altered the islands’ social dynamics and how the consequences continue to be felt. In his overview of the impact of World War Two on the Solomons, he erroneously notes that in 1942 Japanese and American ‘fighter jets’ crashed in the jungle interior of the island of Savo. He elaborates in detail, the unintended consequences of British de-colonialisation, including its impact on the societal breakdown that resulted in the 2003 Australian-led military intervention, RAMSI as well as the later smaller Australian interventions. Analysis of key Australian government interactions with the Solomons government, including its missteps, which influenced perennial Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s decision to diplomatically recognise China at the expense of Taiwan. He details the rise and fall of Malaitan Premier Daniel Suidani, Sogavare’s key antagonist, who actively fought the Switch gaining a global profile doing so. The not insignificant impact of the Switch on global geopolitics, including the manoeuvring by the US, Australia and China to fete Sogavare is examined.
Acton Cavanough sought and usually succeeded in gaining interviews from key political players in the aftermath of the Switch and thus has been able to paint a highly nuanced picture of its ongoing impact on the people of the Solomons. I found Divided Isles a captivating read and commend it to anyone with an interest in regional geopolitics or indeed, the Solomon Islands and its long-suffering people.
The RUSI – Vic Library is most grateful to the publisher for making this work available for review.
