Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele says he's asked Australia to help his country expand its police force to 3,000 officers, after sitting down with Anthony Albanese for bilateral talks in Canberra.
Solomon Islands has struggled with bouts of unrest in recent years, with Australia deploying defence personnel and police to Honiara to restore order following riots in 2021.
The Pacific Island country also stoked ire in Canberra by striking a controversial security pact with China and bringing in Chinese police teams to help with training.
Mr Albanese told a joint press conference that Mr Manele wanted to double the size of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) from 1,500 to 3,000 over a decade as a "first step to strengthening security and stability in the Solomon Islands".
"We have tasked ministers and officials to continue discussions on how this request could further strengthen sovereignty and regional security, and to work together on next steps," he said.
The prime minister also stressed that Australia wanted the "Pacific family" to take care of security in the region — a framework the government regularly uses to try and exclude Beijing.
"We share a region, we share an ocean and we share a history of cooperation," he said.
"As Mr Manele has said, Australia is Solomon Islands' partner of choice, and we do not take this for granted."
Mr Manele heaped praise on Australia for its development and security assistance during the press conference but also acknowledged Australia's anxieties about China's role in policing.
"We have had very frank discussions this morning, and I have taken on board Australia's concerns in some of these areas and we'll report back to cabinet on the way forward," he said.
In separate remarks, Mr Manele also said he had "heard" Australia's concerns on the issue, saying: "On the security arrangements, I hear you very clearly in terms of Australia's interests, in terms of Australia's concerns, with regards to security."
And in a joint statement, the two leaders said that Solomon Islands had agreed to a new "three-tier" arrangement to guide its security policy that seems to exclude outside countries, including China.
Under the new arrangement, Solomon Islands will deal with security problems first through its own police, then second through assistance from Melanesian Spearhead Group countries and finally with support from Pacific Islands Forum countries.
But it is not clear exactly how this new framework will guide Honiara in future, and Mr Manele seemed to suggest during the press conference that he still saw a place for China in Solomon Islands police training.
"Our security partnerships, including with China, is domestically focused, we are trying to address internal security challenges," he said.
"Of course, we acknowledge that our partners China and Australia have strategic interests as well. In our case, we see security through a development lens.
"As a country, we have wider and deeper development interests [and] it's important to work with all partners addressing these development challenges going forward."
Mr Manele had previously flagged that he would ask Australia and other partners to provide budget support and other financial support to help Solomon Islands, which is struggling with an anaemic economy.
But neither Mr Manele nor Mr Albanese said whether they discussed any specific budget assistance or loans in their discussions on Wednesday.
Mr Manele stressed that he wanted to focus on building the country's private sector and boosting exports.
"Going forward, I believe creating permanent jobs in Solomon Islands is critical and our focus is on the productive sector: forestry, fisheries, tourism, mining," he said.
The Solomon Islands prime minister will next head to China for a lengthy visit, before travelling to Tokyo for a meeting of Pacific Island nations with Japan's prime minister and top officials.
