Australia will pay for more police in Solomon Islands and create a police training center in the South Pacific island nation’s capital, Honiara. The $118 million package will provide support and training for Royal Solomon Islands Police Force recruits and “reduce any need for outside support,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced in mid-December 2024.
“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.
Albanese and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said in a statement that the package will build an enduring security capability in the Solomons, “thereby reducing its reliance on external partners over time.”
Australia has pursued new bilateral security deals with its Pacific island neighbors since the Solomons and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) signed a security pact in 2022 under Manele’s predecessor. That deal created concern among Australia and its Allies and Partners, including the United States, that the Chinese Communist Party’s military would build a naval base in the strategically important Solomons.
Australia recently signed security agreements with Nauru, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu that effectively give Canberra veto powers over any security deals those countries might seek with third nations including the PRC.
“The Solomon Islands of course is a sovereign nation,” Albanese said. “As a result of this agreement, what we’ve done is make sure that Australia remains the security partner of choice.”
Mihai Sora, a Pacific islands expert at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank, said the agreement is a “clear win for Solomon Islands, which has gained a much-needed boost to its law and justice sector.”
Blake Johnson, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a Canberra-based think tank, said PRC policing agreements in the Pacific give Beijing tools to control its expatriates and pursue other goals.
“They can be very heavy-handed in their response sometimes,” he said. “There are also concerns around data and privacy risks associated with Chinese police in the region. Sometimes they’re providing surveillance equipment. There are concerns about what that is being used for and what it’s capturing.”
