Solomons still need support

By FRAN O'SULLIVAN assistant editor

The situation in Solomon Islands is still quite dangerous, says Defence Secretary Graham Fortune.

New Zealand's 125 military personnel would "come down to a quarter or less" soon, he said.

"Australia put 2200 people into the Solomons last year. This was now below 1000 and they are going to drop quite fast."

But though both countries were winding back their military support to the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomons a "military footprint" would be there for as long as the police felt they needed the additional military support.

The Defence Secretary yesterday told Otago University's 39th Foreign Policy School on "Redefining the Pacific?" that a lot of weaponry had not been recovered.

He acknowledged that the upcoming elections in the Solomons "may or may not" result in a change of Government.

"It is certainly our hope that the education programmes that are running alongside [the regional assistance mission], which has resulted in an improved environment, would have some effect on voters to put into the Solomon Islands Parliament people who think that is the right way to go ahead," he said.

"But in the event that the people of the Solomon Islands continue with the complete set of politicians that they have had there for the last 10 years, then that problem will continue and we will have to work with it."

Mr Fortune ruled out the establishment of a permanent regional defence force and said it was up to Pacific Island countries to play a role in ensuring their own security through policing the container trade.