FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a signing ceremony at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, June 17, 2024. Lukas Coch/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would provide A$190 million in funding support to the Solomon Islands to expand its police force so the Pacific Islands nation can reduce reliance on external partners over time.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra the funding deal showed Australia was the "security partner of choice" to the Solomon Islands, and would boost regional security.
Solomon Islands has hosted a small Chinese police presence since 2022, after the pro-Beijing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare struck a security pact with Beijing, raising concern in Canberra and Washington.
Australian police provided security after 2021 anti-government riots in Honiara, and newly elected Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said in May his government would review policing ties.
Albanese said Australia will provide funding, training and infrastructure to Solomon Islands to expand its police force.
The move "responds to Solomon Islands’strong desire to build an enduring sovereign security capability, thereby reducing its reliance on external partners over time," he said in a joint statement with his counterpart Manele.
Albanese said A$190 million would be provided over four years.
Australian police provided security in Solomon Islands from 2003 to 2017 at the request of the archipelago's government after internal conflict.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
