Australia will increase support for Solomon Islands policing and security as it works to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific nation.
It will provide $190 million over four years to help strengthen the police force after the Solomon Islands requested Australia’s help to double the number of officers to about 3000.
Australia hasn’t linked the funding to a deal to expel Chinese police, after a similar funding pact struck with Papua New Guinea that ruled out Beijing striking a security agreement with Port Moresby.
“The Solomon Islands, of course, is a sovereign nation, they have some measures in place and we expect that to continue,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
“But we also expect that as a result of this agreement, what we’ve done is make sure that Australia remains a security partner of choice.”
The package includes support for more training and a new police training in Honiara.
“It’s about the capacity of the police force to provide security and what that does is reduce any need for outside support,” Albanese added.
It follows a no-confidence motion being moved and then withdrawn against Solomons Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, which delayed the announcement of policing support.
After visiting Canberra in mid-2024, Manele said he had “taken on board Australia’s concerns in some of these areas” and would report to his cabinet.
Australia sees security in the Pacific as purely the remit of regional countries and has ruled out a Chinese policing presence.
A police training hub was opened in Brisbane earlier in December, and will act as a base for deployments of Pacific police when countries request help for major events or crises.
More than 200 officers have already passed through the nearby training centre since July.
It is part of the wider Pacific Policing Initiative, designed by 11 Pacific Island police chiefs and supported with $400 million in Australian funding.
by Dominic Giannini of AAP
