“Our presence there does not indicate any position on the internal issues of the Solomon Islands,” he said.
The ADF will also deploy a Navy vessel to the Solomon Islands to support the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force with maritime security.
Honiara wasput into lockdown after protesters demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation set fire to parts of parliament,one police station,a bank,and a number of Chinese-owned shops on Wednesday.
In a national address,Mr Sogavare called the riots a “sad and unfortunate event aimed at bringing a democratically elected government down”,saying the protesters had been “led astray by a few unscrupulous people”.
The ADF and AFP have extensive experience in the Solomon Islands after Australia sent hundreds of officers to the country from 2003 after a number of riots and ethnic violence. The operation – known as the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands – officially ended on June 30,2017.
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The RAMSI mission was much larger than the current deployment,with about 300 police officers from Australia,New Zealand and other Pacific nations sent in July 2003 backed up by 1800 military personnel. A paper from the Lowy Institute found it cost at least $2.6 billion in real terms over the next decade,a substantial sum relative to the country’s population of 686,000.
The decision to support Mr Sogavare is an awkward one for the Morrison government considering he has been one of the biggest critics of Australia in recent years among Pacific island nations. The Australian government was pleased the Solomon Islands came to Canberra first,rather than Beijing,given their diplomatic arrangements.
“We have a treaty with the Solomon Islands because of the significant work that has been done by Australians to restore peace to the Solomon Islands through the RAMSI initiative,” Mr Morrison said. “On this occasion,they turn to their family,and that’s how I would describe our role in the Pacific – we’re family.”
Mr Morrison said the safety of Australian staff and contractors at the high commission in the country had been confirmed while Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne urged Australians in Honiara to avoid crowds,be careful,and stay where they are if it is safe.
The country’s 2019 switch to recognising China is believed to be a significant cause of the unrest.
In August 2019,a group of politicians published an open letter condemning the shift in allegiance.
“We believe the long-term interests of our country – in terms of our development aspirations,as well as respect for democratic principles,human rights,rule of law,human dignity,and mutual respect – lie with Taiwan,not the[People’s Republic of China],” it read.
“We are aware of important lessons from many countries – including in our region – who are locked in a serious debt trap as a result of their giving in to China’s lures.”
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Jonathan Pryke,director of the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands program,said the move to Beijing was very public and controversial for many months in 2019.
“Malaita,the most populous island,particularly seized on this as a point of difference from the national government,” he said.
“There’s still ethnic tension – tension about sharing of finite government resources in the country. There’s a belief that too many resources stay in the capital and not enough go to Malaita. So it’s really a case of geopolitics being merged with this inter-island pressure.
“The Chinese are always a vulnerable community but because geopolitics mixed in with this,you’re seeing a real target for Chinese businesses and the Chinese embassy.
“Taiwan did invest a lot into people-to-people,culture connections and political connections.”
Mr Pryke said it would be worthwhile to send a surge of AFP officers who have experience in the country.
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