NZ prepared to be part of armed force to tame strife-torn islands

New Zealand is poised to send troops or armed police to the Solomon Islands as part of a regional security force to restore law and order in the strife-torn country.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said if the proposal for armed intervention went ahead it would be a "significant watershed" decision in Pacific Island diplomacy.

No armed force would be sent without the approval of the Solomons and other Pacific states.

"There's no final decision that's been made on the nature of the contribution."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday that a "substantial" security force was needed in the Solomons to prevent the country from sliding into anarchy and possibly becoming a haven for international terrorists and criminals.

Reports from the Solomon Islands indicate the total force could number 2000, with New Zealand comprising up to 300 of that.

Mr Goff said past attempts to help the Solomon Islands, with unarmed police or international teams trying to disarm rival factions, had been only partly successful and had not set the country on a path of political and economic recovery.

Mr Howard said the participation of the Australian military was "crucial to the safety and effectiveness of any external assistance".

He provided few details of the proposed deployment, but discussed Australia's decision with Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday.

The plan would require the authorisation of the Solomons Parliament, which is expected to grant it at a special sitting on July 8.

The Solomons has been racked by internal problems for at least four years, with warring rival ethnic groups and now criminal gangs leading to lawlessness and the virtual financial collapse of the country.

Mr Goff said the intervention by an armed force, likely to comprise Anzac but also Fiji troops, would be a new step in the Pacific.

He will discuss the force with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in Canberra tomorrow before a meeting of Pacific Island Forum Foreign Ministers in Sydney on Monday.

Any final decision may not be made until the August meeting of forum leaders in Auckland.