As part of an increase in expenditure in the Pacific aimed to strengthen its position in the region as China seeks greater influence, Australia will set aside A$46 million ($29 million) to pay police deployments in the Solomon Islands in the budget that will be unveiled next week.
The United States and ally Australia, who have long viewed the region as mostly falling within their sphere of influence, are concerned about China’s expanding presence in the Pacific, notably its signing of a security agreement with the Solomon Islands in April.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated on Friday that ‘our assistance would help our regional allies become more economically robust… and provide their own security so they have less need to call on others.’
Wong will assert that without these investments, ‘others will continue to fill the vacuum,’ attributing the decline in the Pacific to the previous conservative coalition government, which lost a May election. ‘We need to make up a lot of ground.’
Post Your Comments