China training Solomon Islands police to use water cannons under security pact

China is helping to train Solomon Islands police to use water cannons as part of an ongoing security partnership that is viewed with scepticism by the West.

The Chinese embassy said on Tuesday that six officers from the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force took part in a week-long training exercise, without giving dates.

The programme helped familiarise officers with the use of crowd control vehicles and different scenarios in which they may be used, the embassy said.

The programme cultivated a core reserve of skilled water cannon operators and “effectively enhanced their emergency response and riot control capabilities, providing robust equipment support to safeguard the social security and stability of the Solomon Islands”, the embassy added.

Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019.

China and the Pacific island nation signed a security agreement in 2022, a year after massive riots in the capital Honiara that left hundreds of Chinese citizens homeless.

The partnership has raised concerns in Australia and the United States that Beijing could eventually establish a military presence in the region, a claim Beijing has rejected.

In July 2023, the two countries signed a three-year police cooperation plan covering training, equipment and technical support.

That expanded into maritime policing in January this year when China donated two speedboats to the local police for patrol and rescue operations.

The announcement came as the new Solomon Islands government is looking to rebalance its security partnerships.

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Prime Minister Matthew Wale, who took office in May, announced in June that the government would review the 2022 security agreement with China, along with similar agreements with other countries.

In September, the country reached an agreement in principle with Australia to sign a new treaty that would strengthen their long-standing security partnership.

Canberra has also promised to provide more than A$980 million (US$683 million) in additional funding, according the Australian national broadcaster ABC.

In 2022, China donated 22 vehicles, including water cannon trucks, and 30 motorcycles to the Solomon Islands police, just two days after Australia donated 13 vehicles and 60 short barrel rifles.

In October that year, 32 Solomon Islands police officers spent a month in China studying how to manage large public events, unarmed policing tactics and VIP protection.