Australia–Solomon Islands relations
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Foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through mu ...
exist between
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. Australia has a High Commission in Honiara and Solomon Islands has a High Commission in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. The two countries are members of the
Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...
.


History

In the 1950s, British and Australian government officials discussed transferring sovereignty of the
British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first declared over the southern Solomons in 1893, when Captain Gibson, R.N., of , declared the southern islands a British protectorate. Other islands were subsequently declared to form part o ...
to Australia. The Australian external affairs minister
Paul Hasluck Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck, (1 April 1905 – 9 January 1993) was an Australian statesman who served as the 17th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1969 to 1974. Prior to that, he was a Liberal Party politician, holding min ...
brought a proposal for a transfer to
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
in 1956, but it was rejected primarily for reasons of cost. Under the government of
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
, Australia's relations with
Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is the sixth and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, serving since 24 April 2019. He previously held the office in 2000–2001, 2006—2007 and 2014–2017; in all he has served over ni ...
's Solomon Islands were strained, primarily because of the "
Julian Moti Julian Ronald Moti (2 June 1965 – 21 December 2020) QC CSI was the Attorney General of the Solomon Islands. He was born in Fiji and educated in Australia. Moti worked as an adjunct professor of law at Bond University on Australia's Gold Coas ...
affair". Sogavare notably accused Australia of conducting neo-colonialism in the Solomon Islands via
RAMSI The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata (by New Zealand), was created in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of ...
. On 1 October 2007, the Solomon Islands' Foreign Affairs Minister
Patteson Oti John Patteson Oti, sometimes called Patterson Oti (born 17 January 1956), is a Solomon Islands politician and diplomat. He was foreign minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, External Trade and Immigration from May 2006 to 22 December 2007. He is t ...
addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations, and accused Australia of undermining his country's sovereignty:
Mine is too nationalistic a government to become captive to the fortunes which justify our perpetual retention under siege. My ountry's governmentremain unmoved by Australian resistance to our attempts to reclaim our sovereignty and independence.
This led Australia to exercise its right of reply, denying the accusation. Relations subsequently improved when both Howard and Sogavare lost office in December 2007, and their successors
Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
and
Derek Sikua David Derek Sikua (born 10 October 1959Sikua CV at Parliament website
) served as th ...
immediately set out to improve relations between Canberra and
Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...
. In late March 2022,
Australian Foreign Minister The Minister for Foreign Affairs (commonly shortened to Foreign Minister) is the minister in the Government of Australia who is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Senato ...
Marise Payne Marise Ann Payne (born 29 July 1964) is an Australian politician who served in the Morrison Government as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022 and as Minister for Women from 2019 to 2022. She has been a Senator for New South Wales sin ...
and
Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...
expressed opposition to a draft security pact between China and the Solomon Islands that would allow Beijing to deploy military forces in the country and establish a military base. Similar concerns about the Sino-Solomon Islands security pact were expressed by the New Zealand Government. In response, Solomon Islands Prime Minister
Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is the sixth and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, serving since 24 April 2019. He previously held the office in 2000–2001, 2006—2007 and 2014–2017; in all he has served over ni ...
defended the security pact with China, criticising the leaking of the document and objecting to the Australian media's coverage of the security pact. In addition, the Chinese Government defended law enforcement and bilateral cooperation with the Solomon Islands and disputed Australian criticism that Beijing was coercing the Solomon Islands.


Australian aid

Australia is a significant foreign aid donor to the Solomon Islands, and the country's main development partner. According to the Australian government, their aid in the Solomon Islands is focused on "improving health, education, water and sanitation, transport, telecommunications, law and justice, rural livelihoods and effective governance." In 2018-19, Australia donated $187 million to the Solomon Islands, making it the second biggest recipient of Australian aid, behind
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, which received $572.2 million in 2018-19. Australia led other nations as part of the
Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata (by New Zealand), was created in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of ...
. Over 7,000
Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
members have been deployed in the Solomon Islands as part of that mission. In 2013, the Australian government committed $500 million to assisting the Solomon Islands through the regional assistance mission in the following four years. The mission officially ended on 30 June 2017. In June 2018, the two countries signed an agreement for the sinking of an undersea high speed internet link between the Solomon Islands and the Australian mainland. Though seen as a security issue for Australia, it is believed more than $100 million will come out of Australia's aid budget.Deal to be inked for Solomon Islands undersea internet cable Australia stopped China building
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australia-Solomon Islands relations
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
Bilateral relations of the Solomon Islands