Australia announced on Friday 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 Australia would spend 190 million Australian dollars (USD 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, Albanese told reporters in Australia's capital Canberra.
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 .