Solomon Islands MPs elected a new prime minister on Thursday after national elections ended in political deadlock.
Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele defeated opposition leader Matthew Weil after a secret ballot of 50 MPs, local media reported.
Manele, who succeeded former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare as leader of the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation, won 31 votes to Wale’s 18.
The MPs’ vote took place after the April 17 election failed to secure a majority for any political party.
Manele and his elected government will be closely watched by Australia, the United States and China for his stance on regional security concerns.
Sogavare signed a controversial security agreement with China and switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing during his tenure in office.
On the eve of the elections, Manele signaled that he would maintain close relations with Beijing.
Earlier this week, Sogavare announced he was stepping down as his party’s leader following last week’s poll results and named Manele as his successor.
Australia has traditionally been seen as the Solomon Islands’ “preferred security partner”, sometimes deploying police and occasional troops to help restore order after unrest.
But under Sogaware’s government, China took a bigger role in the affairs of the small Pacific island nation, which included sending a team of Chinese security police to train local forces.
The security agreement between Honiara and Beijing in particular has caused concern on the archipelago, just 1,700 kilometers from parts of the Queensland coast.
This led to efforts by the Australian government to renew its engagement with the Solomon Islands and other Pacific nations as China exerted its influence in the region.
