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The U.S. ambassador to the Solomon Islands has warned Pacific Islands against "aid that benefits one person, one party and one bank account" - remarks that come after the Solomons were beset with riots last month blamed in part on discontent with China.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was accused last week by the leader of the opposition in parliament of using money from a national development fund that comes from China to prop up his political strength. He has rejected graft allegations. read more

Sogavare has blamed foreign powers that opposed his 2019 decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China for influencing anti-government protesters from Malaita province.

Under-developed Malaita has been historically at odds with Guadalcanal province, where the national government is based, and opposed the 2019 switch of ties. It has banned Chinese construction and companies, and in 2020 accepted a $25 million U.S. Aid program.

Malaita protesters last month sparked riots by residents of the capital Honiara, where there is discontent over foreign companies failing to provide local jobs. Large sections of Chinatown burnt down. read more

In her first public comments on the riots, U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Erin McKee said in a statement that the loss of life and destruction of property in Honiara was tragic and "should not have happened".

McKee said the U.S. aid project resulted from an exchange of letters between Sogavare and then U.S. vice president Mike Pence, and aid and defence officials travelled to the Solomon Islands in August 2019.

Solomon Islands broke relations with Taiwan and recognised China the next month. Delays to the U.S. project occurred after the switch. It has since commenced operations although the entry of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers is still being negotiated.

U.S. aid contractors worked in partnership with communities so they could build local infrastructure such as roads and maintain it "without outside help", the statement said.

"Do you want aid that benefits one person, one party, and one bank account? Or do you want assistance that empowers entire families, strengthens entire communities, and enriches entire nations?" she said.

"As democratic and independent states, you have a choice of who to partner with. And I believe that the choice is obvious."

The Chinese embassy, which opened in Honiara in September last year, said on its website hundreds of Chinese families were left homeless by the riots.

"Any attempt to sabotage the relationship is doomed to failure," it added.

Over 200 police and soldiers from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji are in Honiara at the request of Sogavare to maintain order. (Reuters)

A full Chinese invasion of Taiwan with troops landed and ports and airports seized would be very difficult to achieve due to problems China would have in landing and supplying troops, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said in its latest threat assessment.

Tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its own territory, have risen in the past two years as China steps up military activities near Taiwan to pressure it to accept Chinese rule.

In a report to lawmakers, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said China's transport capacity was at present limited, it would not be able to land all its forces in one go, and would have to rely on "non-standard" roll-on, roll-off ships that would need to use port facilities and transport aircraft that would need airports.

"However, the nation's military strongly defends ports and airports, and they will not be easy to occupy in a short time. Landing operations will face extremely high risks," the ministry said in its report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.

China's logistics face challenges too, as any landing forces would need to be resupplied with weapons, food and medicines across the Taiwan Strait that separates the two, it added.

"The nation's military has the advantage of the Taiwan Strait being a natural moat and can use joint intercept operations, cutting off the Communist military's supplies, severely reducing the combat effectiveness and endurance of the landing forces."

China would also need to keep some of its forces in reserve to prevent any foreign forces joining in to help Taiwan and to keep close watch on other fractious areas of China's border, like with India and in the South China Sea, the ministry said.

"U.S. and Japanese military bases are close to Taiwan, and any Chinese Communist attack would necessarily be closely monitored, plus it would need to reserve forces to prevent foreign military intervention," it added.

"It is difficult to concentrate all its efforts on fighting with Taiwan."

Experts say though that China has other means at its disposal to bring Taiwan to its knees short of a full out invasion, including a blockade or targeted missile attacks.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is overseeing a military modernisation programme to make the island harder to attack, making the military more mobile and with precision weapons like longer-range missiles to take out an attacking force.

The government is planning an extra T$240 billion ($8.66 billion) over the next five years in military spending to go mostly toward naval weapons, including missiles and warships. (Reuters)

File photo. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett holds a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, on Dec 5, 2021. (Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via Reuters) - 

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will travel the United Arab Emirates on Sunday (Dec 12) and meet the Gulf state's de facto ruler in the highest-level visit since the countries formalised relations last year.

The trip comes amid heightened regional tension as world powers' try to renew a nuclear deal with Iran. Israel and some Gulf Arabs share concern over Iranian activities in the region.

"I will be going out today to the United Arab Emirates, in the first visit ever by an Israeli prime minister," Bennett told a meeting of his Cabinet on Sunday.

There was no immediate confirmation from Abu Dhabi.

The UAE along with Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco moved toward normal ties with Israel under a US-sponsored initiative dubbed the "Abraham Accords" in reference to the biblical patriarch revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Bennett's trip on Sunday would be the first by an Israeli premier to any of those four countries.

He will meet Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Monday, Bennett's office said.

The two leaders will discuss deepening ties, with an emphasis on economic issues that will contribute to prosperity, welfare and strengthening stability between the countries, the Israeli statement added//CNA

A general view of the Burj Khalifa and the downtown skyline in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Jun 12, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Christopher Pike) - 

Being raised in the Middle East with a lack of savings and investment culture, many young Arabs are turning to online banking services to help track their spending and budget.

When Mayar Akrameh was growing up in Lebanon, financial advice was simple: work long, work hard and aim for a high-paying job.

Now the 29-year-old management consultant is one of a growing number of young Arabs who are turning to financial technology, or "fintech", to help them save and invest, often a neglected practice in the Middle East.

"We're taught that if you're working and making enough money, even if you hate your job, you're good," she told AFP. "Or they think we're good."

Akrameh moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2019 at the start of Lebanon's financial crisis, which would later see the local currency plunge to all-time lows, with many people denied free access to their savings by stringent banking controls.

The region's economic instability, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, has spurred many to turn to online banking and financial tools.

Akrameh, who did not know how to invest and save money when she started generating income, now uses an app to track her spending.

"It's not just about retiring; it's about living better, having dreams, having time to breathe and reflect," she said.

S&P Global said in a 2019 report that indicators showed Gulf Arab countries appeared the most ready for fintech adoption, with the key driver being demand and a preference by clients for digital banking.

The fintech sector across the Middle East is already growing, according to the Milken Institute think tank.

It estimates that 465 companies will raise more than US$2 billion by 2022 compared with the 30 fintech firms that raised around $80 million in 2017.

In addition to having some of the world's youngest populations and highest unemployment rates, many countries in the Middle East and North Africa rank among the lowest for long-term savers and investors.

Only seven per cent of adults in the region save for retirement, according to the World Bank's 2016 Saving for Old Age report - the lowest across global economies.

"Arabs, we took the really tough path to wealth," said Mark Chahwan, the CEO of Sarwa, a Dubai-based automated financial consultancy firm.

"We think our income is what's going to make us rich instead of our capital," he told AFP.

Most oil-rich Gulf Arab states, including top crude exporter Saudi Arabia, have long provided their citizens with government-sponsored pensions.

But Saudi officials have warned the system is unsustainable, according to Bloomberg, as Riyadh tries to diversify its economy away from oil.

Also, such pensions exclude foreigners, many of whom provide cheap labour and make up a large proportion of the population in many Gulf states.

Chahwan said he has noticed a shift in financial behaviour in the past year, in large part due to the pandemic, which devastated many industries and saw many people lose their jobs.

He said there was an 80 per cent increase in new Sarwa accounts since the first quarter of 2020, with up to 45,000 portfolios of people between the ages of 25 and 45.

Chahwan said the average user was new to the idea of long-term investment, with many Arabs still hesitant about having to wait for benefits later rather than make quick profits.

"We don't have education that revolves around long-term investing," he said, adding that the obstacle remains convincing eager investors of the benefits of delayed gratification.

Another issue is the region's investment landscape, which is mostly limited to so-called high-net-worth individuals, usually defined as people with at least US$1 million in liquid assets.

"If someone wanted to invest US$1,000 or US$10,000, there was not much available," said Haitham Juma, an investment solutions manager at the UAE-based National Bank of Fujairah.

He said smaller-ticket investors need wealth management options with more transparency, accessibility and liquidity that will help build the region's investment market.

"We are still at the early stages of it," said Juma, as local banks and firms seek to create online platforms that educate users and simplify investing.

Making the process easier - or even fun - is key to attracting new investors, as outlined by Lune, a UAE-based finance platform that launched in July.

"It doesn't matter their age, their income or their experience," Alexandre Soued, the app's co-founder, told AFP.

He added that the platform's focus is on the initial steps of managing, saving and then investing, and encouraging them to use simple online tools.

Lune allows its nearly 1,000 users to instantly visualise their spending, swipe to optimise savings, and soon, Soued said, they will be able to compare their savings to others their age.

"People are starting to want to be more independent from younger ages," he told AFP. "And your financial situation is attached to that."//CNA