The United States of America and experts from Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and the UK are leading the multinational team in “Operation Render Safe 2024” organized by the Australian Defense Force and RSPF.
U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Anthony Calegari praised Operation Render Safe for its multilateral commitment to remove World War II-era unexploded ordnance in Pacific Island countries, expressing gratitude to Australian partners.
A media statement from the US Embassy in Honiara, highlights this year, marks the 20th year that Operation Render Safe has been conducted, and this will be the largest land-based Render Safe Operation ever.
The combined team will focus on removing explosive remnants of war from key areas in Western Province, including Kohinggo, Kolombangara, Munda, and Vona Vona.
The mission will take place across three land and two maritime areas of operation and will be supported by air assets operating between Honiara and Western Province, including MV-22 Osprey aircraft that the U.S. Department of Defense is sending to support the exercise from the end of August until mid-September.
The statement adds that the United States stands ready to further partner with the Solomon Islands Government on this shared effort, as it has been for at least 15 years.
Following the Solomon Islands Government officially accepting U.S. Department of Defense cooperation on Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) assistance in August 2023, the U.S. Embassy presented a draft memorandum of understanding for signature to the Solomon Islands Government in January 2024.
Once the MOU is signed, almost USD 2 million in funding would support technical assistance, equipment, physical infrastructure, training, and mentorship with the RSIPF.
This project would expand UXO assistance by facilitating cooperation between the RSIPF and the U.S. Department of Defense HMA Program to meet Solomon Islands’ complex HMA challenges, to reduce the hazards posed by explosive remnants of war.
Since 2011, the United States has invested more than $11 million in Solomon Islands’ conventional weapons destruction activities to locate and mark UXO, support updates to the national UXO database, and provide national capacity support.
This included training and equipping the RSIPF explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) unit which was created through a joint assistance initiative between the United States and Australia; training 13 engineers who have conducted more than 1,200 explosive ordnance callouts and destroyed more than 29,746 items of UXO.
