Solomon Islands and Australia's $190 million policing deal delayed over 'language' disagreement

Australia and Solomon Islands have made little progress on a $190 million package to expand the Pacific nation's police force — almost a full year after the high-profile initiative was announced.

In December last year, Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Jeremiah Manele issued a joint statement declaring Australia would provide financial support to "grow the size and capability of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF)" and help it "build an enduring sovereign security capability" over four years.

The two leaders also said Canberra would provide "funding, training, and infrastructure support to grow the RSIPF in a sustainable manner", including establishing a "new sovereign police training centre in Honiara."

But progress on the major announcement — described by one analyst at the time as a "Christmas present" for Solomon Islands — has been slow.

In September, Mr Manele and Mr Albanese met during the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Honiara, where they announced "the start of the design process" for the Australian-funded "police academy".

But it is not yet clear when work on the building will commence, and there is no evidence that the RSIPF has begun to substantially ramp up its numbers.

While Mr Manele has previously declared he wanted to double or even triple the size of the RSIPF, there has been internal debate in Honiara about the best way to spend the money.

On top of that, the two countries are yet to sign an agreement to bed down and implement the assistance package.

Back in March, Mr Manale said there were "one or two differences" preventing the MoU being signed.

And in an interview with the ABC last week, he told the ABC the two countries had still not "as yet" finalised the pact.

"Prime minister Albanese did announce the $190 million over a four-year period," Mr Manele said.

Mr Manele suggested the delay was due to "language in the agreement" being negotiated, but did not provide any further details, saying while both countries could still "revisit" the pact, there was no timeline for reaching an agreement.

Policing assistance a sensitive topic

Earlier this year, officials from Solomon Islands privately accused Australia of trying to use the MoU to sink China's policing training programs in the Pacific nation, although Honiara has never levelled that accusation at Canberra publicly.

Analysts say the new police assistance package is part of Australia's broader push to expand policing and defence ties with Pacific nations while locking China out of the security sector.

The topic is particularly sensitive in Solomon Islands, where China has expanded its police cooperation and training programs despite deep discomfort in Canberra.

Mr Manele suggested the government could still push ahead with Australian-funded projects like the police academy without the agreement being signed, saying officials were looking at "whether we pursue the agreement as a package or we look at individual components within the agreement in terms of projects."

In June, the Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said there had been "a debate within the Solomon Islands about what was better to focus on — increasing the number of police officers or investing in the infrastructure like the police training centre and police stations in the outlying regions" but he expected the issue would be resolved "quickly".

"We expect to hear their priorities shortly about how best to allocate that funding to facilitate the expansion of the police force," he said.

"And then we're going to get on and partner with them to do that."

At around the same time, Mr Manele said Solomon Islands needed "more time to undertake an assessment of the needs of our policing, both in terms of capacity and capability" after launching a major new national security strategy.

"That will need a lot of time, and the costs could be much higher than the $190 million over four years," he told a press conference in Honiara.

"So that's why the delay is there, because we need to be prepared."

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia was "committed" to supporting Solomon Islands' "evolving" security priorities.

"The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) expansion is led and owned by Solomon Islands, with priorities, timeframes and milestones set by Solomon Islands," they said.

The ABC has contacted both the RSIPF and the Solomon Islands Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services, but has not received a response.

The ABC sent a series of questions to the Secretary of the Solomon Islands Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services, Karen Gokoale, but she declined to respond.

"We will align our position with the statement delivered by the Prime Minister, Hon. Jeremiah Manele," she said.