In short:
Australia has struck a new security agreement with Solomon Islands to bolster the size of the Pacific Island nation's police force.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the package would provide the Pacific nation with an "enduring sovereign security capability".
What's next?
Mr Albanese says the deal will ensure China wouldn't be able to grow its policing and security presence in the Solomon Islands.
Australia will plough $190 million into the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and set up a new police training centre in the capital Honiara, as the federal government tries to stop China expanding its security presence in the Pacific Island nation.
The new assistance package was unveiled by the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today in Canberra, only days after a push to topple Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele dissipated in parliament.
An image of guns donated by the Australian Federal Police in the Solomon Islands. (Supplied: AFP/RSIPF)
In a joint statement Mr Albanese and Mr Manele said the package would provide the Pacific nation with an "enduring sovereign security capability" and reduce its "reliance on external partners over time".
Mr Manele said in June this year that he wanted Australia to help him double the size of the country's police force to help it deal with any ongoing unrest in the wake of riots which broke out in November 2021.
Mr Albanese said the 190 million dollars would be spread over four years and would be used to "improve funding, training and infrastructure support to grow the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in a sustainable manner".
The ABC reported earlier this month that Australia had agreed to a new assistance package, but the details were revealed only today.
Gains for Australia not 'clear cut'
Unlike the broader pacts Australia has struck with Tuvalu and Nauru, this new funding package doesn't give Australia any veto powers over the national security and policing decisions which Solomon Islands makes.
Australia inks treaty with Nauru locking out growing Chinese influence
Photo shows Adeang and Albanese shake hands and smile inside the prime minister's office at parliament house.
China already has an effectively permanent presence of about 14 police officers in Solomon Islands who rotate through the country and provide training across multiple provinces.
Mr Albanese indicated that Chinese police training teams would remain in place, but suggested the deal would ensure China wouldn't be able to grow its policing and security presence.
"We expect that the Solomon Islands of course, as a sovereign nation, they have some measures in place and we expect that to continue," he said.
"But we also expect that as a result of this agreement, what we have done is make sure that Australia remains a security partner of choice."
Director of the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands program Mihai Sora said the announcement was a "clear win for Solomon Islands, which has gained a much-needed boost to its law and order sector".
"It feels more like a Christmas present to Solomon Islands … but the gains for Australia are less clear cut," he said.
"Solomon Islands has not committed even to scaling back the permanent rotating presence of Chinese police officers in the country, who will continue to run parallel police training activities with the [Solomon Islands police].
"Australia is hanging its hat on an 'understanding' with PM Manele, that Australia remains the partner of choice for security in Solomon Islands.
"But this falls short of a solid strategic commitment, the likes of which Australia is clearly seeking and has had measures of success with Tuvalu, Nauru and PNG, respectively."
