Solomon Islands: Australia inks fresh Pacific security deal to grow police force in counter China move

Australia will give the Solomon Islands a $190m “package of support” to grow the size and capability of the police force in the Albanese Government’s latest move to show muscle in the Pacific and counter China.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the “new step in our bilateral relationship” from Canberra on Friday, lauding it as a commitment from the Solomon Islands that Australia is the “security partner of choice”.

He said the package includes funding, training and infrastructure support, and would help build a training centre in Honiara. It forms part of the island nation’s desire to build up its sovereign security capability to lessen its reliance on external partners in the future.

“This partnership is an investment in Solomon Islands, which will help unlock prosperity for more Solomon Islanders and establish a new foundation for our cooperation,” Mr Albanese said in a joint statement with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele.

At a press conference on Friday, Mr Albanese said his Government had worked “tirelessly” to improve relations in the Pacific since coming to office, describing it as being “at a very low ebb in 2022”.

“Part of that was just alienation that our Pacific Island neighbours felt from Australia’s policy on climate, our policy on foreign relations and the way that we dealt with our fellow members of the Pacific family,” he said.

“It is also the case that today we reinforce Prime Minister Manele’s comment that Australia is the security partner of choice.”

Asked if the deal had included a guarantee that China’s presence in the country - including the Beijing police on the ground - would be removed, Mr Albanese said the Solomon Islands was a “sovereign nation” and the measures in place “we expect to continue”.

“But we also expect that as a result of this agreement, what we have done is make sure that Australia remains a security partner of choice as Prime Minister Manele has said,” he said.

He said the four-year investment would be guided by the Solomon Islands’ priorities - looking after their own police forces, cooperating with their Melanesian neighbours, and engaging with other Pacific Islands.

The security deal follows the inking of a sport-centred deal with Papua New Guinea last week, a signed security pact with Nauru and a world-first union treaty with Tuvalu.

The Government also launched a $400m Pacific Policing Initiative earlier this year, which will train police personnel from across the region in Brisbane.

All of these measures are important for our region, but they are important in our national interests as well. Australia has an interest in good relations and having a secure region.