The federal government is preparing to unveil a slew of Pacific initiatives designed to bolster its strategic position in the region.
The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Jeremiah Manele met Anthony Albanese in Canberra earlier this year to ask for policing and security assistance.The measures will substantially increase the size of Solomon Islands ' police force, which has dealt with decades of periodic civil unrest in the country.The government is expected to announce a number of Pacific initiatives next week which are designed to bolster its strategic position in the region.
But China has rapidly emerged as a major competitor since signing security and policing agreements with the Pacific island country in 2022, expanding police training across multiple provinces in Solomon Islands, and making high profile donations of vehicles and equipment. The government is also widely expected to confirm under the new pact the Commonwealth Bank will fill the breach left bya new NRL team in Papua New Guinea
Mihai Sora from the Lowy Institute said Australian diplomats had been "working feverishly to 'hold the line' in the Pacific since the 2022 Solomon Islands-China security pact, which was widely seen as a failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific."
Asia Security Policing Asia Pacific China Anthony Albanese Jeremiah Manele
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