Australia announces $118 million deal to enhance policing in Solomon Islands

Australia has announced it will pay for more police in Solomon Islands and create a police training center in the South Pacific island nation’s capital Honiara, where Chinese law enforcement instructors are already based under a bilateral security pact with Beijing. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday Australia would spend 190 million Australian dollars 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.” Albanese and his Solomons counterpart Jeremiah Manele said in a joint statement on Friday the package would build an enduring security capability in the Solomons, “thereby reducing its reliance on external partners over time.”