The arrival of 150 police and troops from Australia and Papua New Guinea has restored calm to the streets of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. And now to take stock of the consequences of 3 days of riots that followed protests over PM Manasseh Sogavare switching the nation’s diplomatic relationship from Taipei to Beijing in 2019. Three bodies were found in a shop in the city’s burnt-out Chinatown district. It’s unclear if the deaths are directly linked to the protests, but China had expressed concerns that its citizens and businesses would be targeted. And aid organisations said families have emerged from their homes to top up on fuel and grocery staples which have driven shortages and price surges. Our government isn’t pointing fingers over the cause of the unrest, but experts say a long-running inter-province rivalry, poverty, and unemployment play big parts in it.