Australia yesterday said it would pay for more police in the Solomon Islands and create a police training center in its capital, Honiara, where Chinese law enforcement instructors are already based under a bilateral security pact with Beijing.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country would spend A$190 million (US$118 million) over four years on funding and training new Royal Solomon Islands Police Force recruits with a package that would “reduce any need for outside support.”
“My government is proud to make a significant investment in the police force of the Solomon Islands to ensure that they can continue to take primary responsibility for security in the Solomons,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Albanese and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele in a joint statement yesterday said the package would build an enduring security capability in the Solomons, “thereby reducing its reliance on external partners over time.”
Australia has been energetically pursuing new bilateral security deals with its Pacific island neighbors since Beijing and the Solomons signed a security deal in 2022 under Manele’s predecessor, Manasseh Sogavare.
That deal has created fears among US allies, including Australia, that the Chinese navy would be allowed to build a base in the strategically important Solomons.
Albanese’s Labor Party, which was the opposition at the time the pact was signed, described it as Australia’s worst foreign policy failure in the Pacific since World War II.
Australia has recently signed security deals with Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Nauru that effectively give Canberra veto powers over any security deals those countries might want to strike with third nations, including China.
Asked if the new deal would require the Chinese security presence to be removed from the Solomons, Albanese did not directly answer.
“The Solomon Islands of course is a sovereign nation. They have some measures in place and we expect that to continue,” Albanese said. “As a result of this agreement, what we’ve done is make sure that Australia remains the security partner of choice.”
Lowy Institute Pacific islands expert Mihai Sora said the agreement was a “clear win for Solomon Islands, which has gained a much-needed boost to its law and justice sector.”
“But Solomon Islands has not committed to scaling back the essentially permanent rotating presence of around 14 Chinese police trainers in the country, who have been running their own parallel training program with Solomon Islands police since 2022,” Sora said.
“So, the agreement falls short of a solid strategic commitment to Australia from Solomon Islands, and there’s no indication that it would derail China-Solomon Islands security ties,” Sora added.
Australian Security Policy Institute analyst Blake Johnson said Chinese policing in the Pacific gives Beijing tools to control Chinese expatriates and pursue other goals.
“They can be very heavy-handed in their response sometimes. There are also concerns around data and privacy risks associated with Chinese police in the region,” Johnson said.
“Sometimes they’re providing surveillance equipment. There are concerns about what that is being used for and what it’s capturing,” Johnson added.
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