(Adds U.S. State Department, paragraphs 9-10)
By Kirsty Needham
May 2 (Reuters) - Solomon Islands lawmakers selected Jeremiah Manele as their new prime minister on Thursday, elevating the former foreign minister who has pledged to continue the Pacific Island nation's international policy that drew it closer to China.
Manele won 31 votes to Opposition leader Matthew Wales' 18 votes in the 50-seat parliament, Governor General Sir David Vunagi announced outside parliament house.
A national election last month saw incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government lose half of its seats but failed to deliver a majority to any political party. The government and opposition parties lobbied intensively for weeks to win support from independents ahead of the vote for prime minister.
Police boosted security in the capital Honiara as newly elected lawmakers arrived at parliament on Thursday to vote in a secret ballot.
The election was closely watched by China, the U.S. and neighbouring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security, after Sogavare struck a controversial security pact with China in 2022.
The United States and Australia are concerned about China's naval ambitions in Pacific countries as tensions rise over Taiwan. The Solomon Islands archipelago occupies a strategic position 1,600 km (990 miles) northeast of Australia.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he looked forward to working closely with Manele.
"Australia and Solomon Islands are close friends and our futures are connected," he wrote on social media platform X.
The U.S. State Department congratulated Manele for his election in the leadership vote and the people of Solomon Islands for making their voices heard.
"We look forward to working with Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele to further strengthen the U.S.-Solomon Islands relationship and move our nations toward a better future," the department's spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said in a statement.
China's embassy said in a Facebook post it looked forward to "working with you to develop China-Solomon Islands relations and deliver more benefits to our peoples".
Sogavare, who built close ties with Beijing during five years in power but only narrowly held his seat last month, did not seek reelection to the top political office and his party backed Manele.
Wale's coalition of opposition parties had criticised the arrival of Chinese police in 2022, and favoured returning to closer ties with traditional aid donors such as Australia and accepting infrastructure aid from the United States.