Vote counting starts in Solomon Islands as China, US trade barbs

A woman votes at a polling station in Honiara, Solomon Islands. [AFP]

Vote counting was under way Thursday in the South Pacific's Solomon Islands, a contest keenly watched from afar as China's efforts to stamp its mark on the region are tested.

Ballots were trucked into a heavily guarded counting centre in the capital Honiara, watched over by international teams of uniformed Fijian soldiers and Australian police.