New Zealand to send troops to Solomon Islands

New Zealand yesterday said that it would dispatch defense personnel, helicopters and a naval ship to the Solomon Islands to assist in a national election next month, in which relations with China would be a key issue.

The deployment is part of a NZ$10.8 million (US$6.5 million) support program for the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission announced in January and that would help transport election officers and materials around the Pacific Island nation.

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the vessel HMNZS Canterbury would leave Auckland today to transport two helicopters and crew, along with command and maintenance personnel, to the Solomon Islands’ capital, Honiara.

“New Zealand’s overall contribution will support the Commission to lead the delivery of a safe and successful election,” New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Winston Peters said in a statement. “It demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to a resilient democracy in [the] Solomon Islands and the wider Pacific region.”

The Solomon Islands is a key ally of China, and closer ties with Beijing following the election of Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in 2019 have alarmed the US and Australia, and set off a race for influence in the Pacific Island nation.

At least one opposition politician has called for a security pact with China to be reviewed and has said that he would seek to re-establish diplomatic ties with Taiwan, local media reported.

Another politician has said that he would ask the people to decide on the Solomon Islands’ relations with China via a referendum.

The Solomon Islands in September last year said that a contingent of Australian police first deployed in 2021 to quell anti-government riots would stay on in the nation until after the election.