China is using cash to try and shore up support in the Pacific.

In Honiara, the Solomon Islands capital, they just built most of the venues in the Pacific Games precinct.

And China is not alone. Like a geopolitical version of The Bachelor, China, Taiwan, Australia and the United States are all trying desperately to win Honiara's heart.

This tussle has caused panic in Taipei and Canberra, anger in Beijing and Washington, and actual violence in the Solomons.

It's hard to think of a more perfect example of trouble in paradise.

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