Australia agrees deal to strengthen Solomons police [Video]

Australia said Friday it has agreed to boost Solomon Islands’ police force with a finance and training package for the Pacific nation, which has fostered close ties with China.

The deal includes Aus$190 million (US$118 million) in financing over four years and will see the construction of a new police training centre in the Solomons’ capital Honiara, Canberra said.

It represents a “new foundation for Australia’s security partnership with the Solomon Islands”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference.

“What we have done is ensure that Australia remains the security partner of choice.”

Albanese said he sealed the agreement in discussions with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele.

Manele’s predecessor switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019.

Three years later, the archipelago signed a secretive security deal with Beijing that raised alarm in Western capitals over China’s expanding influence in the Pacific.

Beijing’s move sparked a flurry …