By Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Pacific Island states have endorsed an Australian-funded A$400 million ($271 million) plan to improve police training and create a mobile regional policing unit, Australia said on Wednesday, as Canberra looks to reduce China’s security footprint in the area.
The Pacific Policing Initiative will set up four police training centres across the Pacific as well as a separate hub in Brisbane, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after the plan was agreed by consensus during a meeting of Pacific Islands leaders in Tonga.
The initiative will also create a multi-country policing force that can be deployed to countries in the region in the event of major events or crises.
“The first task of an international leader is to look after the security and safety of our residents and that is what this is about,” Albanese told a press conference in Tonga. “Making sure that by working together, the security of the entire region will be much stronger and will be looked after by ourselves.”
China has been a major infrastructure lender in the region and is now seeking a greater role in the military and policing, as well as digital connectivity and media.
Australia has previously said there should be “no role” for China in policing the Pacific Islands. Wednesday’s initiative seeks to reduce the need for countries in the region to turn for help to China, which already has police operating in Solomon Islands and Kiribati.
Beijing hosted visits by the leaders of Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands in the weeks before the forum meeting, highlighting its ability to provide development assistance, and its security goals.
($1 = 1.4738 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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