Solomon Islands announce to restrict Chinese police

Chinese police assigned to the Solomon Islands will be under the supervision of the local force, and will not be permitted to adopt the heavy-handed techniques found in places like Hong Kong, according to the Solomon Islands envoy to Australia.

“We will ensure that what is occurring in other nations like Hong Kong does not happen in our country,” Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Australia Robert Sisilo said on ABC radio on Monday.
Concerns over China’s rising influence in the Solomon Islands, a Pacific island nation of 700,000 people, prompted Sisilo’s remarks after the two nations inked a security partnership last month. China can send armed police to assist maintain “social order” under the provisions of the agreement.

According to Sisilo, Chinese police will be placed under local direction as soon as they arrive in the Solomon Islands.

The arrangement is similar to one that Australia and the Solomon Islands have. At the request of the Solomon Islands’ administration, Canberra dispatched more than 70 security troops to the Solomon Islands during rioting in late November.

“Our prime minister has said we are attempting to diversify our sources of help,” Sisilo said during the interview. “In this situation, we are looking to China to offer that sort of support, just like Australia and other nations provide the same degree of support.”

Australia and the US are both afraid that the new treaty would allow China to establish a military base in the Pacific.

Countries such as the Solomon Islands may want to avoid the mistakes made by Sri Lanka, which was forced to hand over its port facilities to China in 2017 after defaulting on a large loan.