Honiara calls for respect to its sovereignty and its right to make own decisions in response to Canberra’s call for the publication of its newly signed policing plan with Beijing
“Respect our sovereignty and right to make our own decisions” is the stern response issued by the Prime Minister Sogavare-led Solomon Islands Government delegation visiting China to a regional security-concerned Canberra.
The response was issued following a call by the Australian Government on Solomon Islands and China to ‘immediately’ publish their new policing plan out of concerns that it will invite ‘regional contest’ in the Pacific.
The Sogavare-led SIG delegation in a statement said the signing of the ‘Police Cooperation Plan’ in Beijing this week between Solomon Islands and China is premised on the Solomon Islands Government’s policy to strengthen the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF).
“The Police Programme between the Solomon Islands Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Service and the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China compliments the Australian and New Zealand Police Programme in Solomon Islands.
“The Implementation Plan is to upskill, build and enhance the capability and capacity of the 1500 RSIPF officers to look after our 700,000 population, the government explained in a statement.
“This Implementation Plan merely sets out how the Police Cooperation MoU is going to be implemented, and it sets out the scope of areas of assistance. These areas include extensive trainings on policing skills and provision of police equipment such as vehicles, UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and conduct trainings on the usage of these equipment. This assistance has already happened with the provision of vehicles and training of our police, and we expect to continue on with this partnership.
“The Plan also provides for the assistance on establishing a Forensic Autopsy Lab which has already been completed, assistance on capacity-building in cyber-security, assistance for RSIPF to improve policing work at community level and conduct traffic police training to improve traffic control system and boost RSIPF’s capacity on traffic management,” the statement said.
It said the Solomon Islands cooperation with China and all partners are based on the principles of equality and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other and therefore, no country has the right to interfere into Solomon Islands internal affairs.
“The Solomon Islands National Security Strategy guides our action in broadening our security partnership. The Ministerial Programme compliments existing Police Programme RSIPF has with AFP and New Zealand Police Programme respectively. Diversifying RSIPF training and broadening our partnership is driven by our national Police needs and interests. No one has a monopoly of knowledge,” the statement added.
The statement said the Solomon Islands Government fails to see how the improvement of RSIPF traffic control and management system in Honiara, provision of police equipment or the completion of the Forensic Autopsy Lab can be a threat to Pacific regional peace and security.
“The 2006 Riots exposed gaps in RSIPF, these gaps were confirmed by the November Riots in 2021. The Implementation Plan is a response to plugging some of these gaps.
“We have suffered enough because of these security gaps. We only want what is best for our country and people, which is a professional, effective and robust RSIPF that provides a peaceful, safe and secure society, and instils confidence in our people, businesses and investors,” the statement added.
– PM’s Press Secretariat/Solstar
