29 August 2024,
Details have emerged at the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga that the US may be staying out of policing support and development in the Pacific for Australia to take the lead.
An RNZ Pacific journalist was filming cutaways of the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell after a press conference where Australia announced it would commit approximately AU$400 million over five years to ensure the Pacific Policing Initiative (PPI) delivers on the aspirations of Pacific countries.
I regard this reported news as "good news" and trust very much that the Solomon Islands will be a beneficiary of such an Australian led policing initiative and soon but add a word of caution that any such support should be less on arming the RSIPF with lethal firearms but more on supporting community policing initiatives, police training, management restructuring and aiding effective communications and intelligence gathering.
Building up good community relations and fostering youth suppport for the police support to win over hearts and minds is the best way forward for a police service steeped in a past tradition of community support, not armed confrontation as sadly became all too evident during the past years of so called "ethnic tension."
Sincerely
Frank Short
www,solomonoislandsinfocus,com
