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Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is travelling to the Solomon Islands to discuss security requirements and the formation of a possible defence force under the newly elected government.
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The Minister for Defence is expected to meet with newly elected Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, Deputy Prime Minister Bradley Tovosia, Minister for Finance Manasseh Sogavare, and Minister of Police, National Security and Correctional Services Jimson Tanangada in Honiara, Solomon Islands this week.
The visit is expected to provide an opportunity to discuss recent support provided to the election and the broader economic, development, and security partnership.
In addition, it’s understood both parties are likely to discuss the possibility of a new Solomon Islands defence force. The country previously held a defence force from 1942 to 1946 during World War II.
“I look forward to meeting and congratulating newly elected Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele,” Marles said.
“We will continue our close and productive work with Prime Minister Manele and the Solomon Islands government.
“The relationship between Australia and Solomon Islands is significant as we work towards a peaceful and prosperous region in partnership with Pacific countries.”
Minister Marles, speaking to ABC Afternoon Briefing on 20 May, said the talks would centre around Solomon’s future and Solomon’s security needs.
“Really, the point of this visit is to provide an early opportunity after the recent election in Solomon Islands and the recent formation of the Manele government to talk to the government about its priorities and the way in which Australia can help and contribute,” he said.
“We seek to be the partner of choice, the security partner of choice for Solomon Islands, we understand that that’s not something that we get by right, we want to earn that, hence, going to Solomon Islands quickly.
“We really want to understand the ways in which Australia can help. But we’ve been making this clear to the Sogavare government and to Solomon Islands governments of the past. And we want to make it clear to the Manele government that we stand ready to assist Solomon Islands and all its security needs. And we really want to understand how best we can do that going forward.
“We will be very keen to talk … about how, what sort of assistance we can provide going forward across the board, be it in terms of Solomon’s future ambitions around whatever it might want to do in respect to the defence force, but also in the context of policing as we have in the past.
“This trip affords us the opportunity of doing is to be really sitting down with the Manele government, looking at what their needs are, the way in which we can help, the way in which we can help in relation to training specifically, and looking at what their forward needs are in the context of what aspirations this government has around its security, in terms of policing, and also in terms of whatever other ambitions it might have around the establishment of a defence force.
“We need to understand what the ambitions of this government in terms of establishing a defence force. We don’t come to this with the view that Solomon Islands should do one thing or another, we simply stand here ready to assist in whatever it decides to do.”
