Political Instability in the Solomon Islands and Australias Relations - Essay Example

Political instability in the Solomon Islands and Australia’s relations Introduction The Solomon Islands, a group of islands located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea, has been undergoing political instability in the contemporary history which has negatively impacted economic development in the nation. Being the principal aid donor to the Solomon Islands, Australia’s diplomatic relations with this nation has a great influence in the peace keeping process in the South Pacific region. “Australia provided substantial assistance to the Solomon Islands in the wake of unrest in 2000. Australia facilitated ceasefire and peace talks and led an International Peace Monitoring Team which supported implementation of a peace agreement. Australia is helping the Solomon Islands Government address continuing problems of lawlessness and economic decline.” (Year book, Australia, 2005, P. 82). Therefore, the diplomatic relations of Australia with the Solomon Islands have essential role in the peace keeping process of the nation as well as the region. To analyze the background information of the Solomon Islands, the British Government established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in 1893 and they provided some of the bloodiest land, sea and air battles of World War II from 1942 to 1945. The land achieved independence in 1976 following the struggles by the indigenous people after World War II. In a careful analysis of the history of the Solomon Islands, it becomes lucid that political instability was a ground reality from its establishment and the diplomatic relations of Australia played a significant role in this context. Various political situations and developments in the Solomon Islands required the intervention of a political power such as Australia and it has been seriously involved in working to promote stability and growth in the nation and the region. In this paper, Australia’s deep and longstanding relationship with the Solomon Islands is analyzed in detail in order to determine the various aspects of the nation’s relationship with the Solomon Islands. Australia’s relationship with Solomon Islands, which has been deep and longstanding, has played a major role in the attempts to promote stability and growth in the nation. The bilateral relationship between the two nations has been very significant and Australia maintains a serious business relationship with Solomon Islands. “Australia maintains a close business relationship with Solomon Islands… Recognizing the scope and scale of the challenges confronting Solomon Islands, Australia continues to provide significant levels of development assistance to the country.” (Solomon Islands Country Brief, 2009). There are shipping and air services between the two nations which connect Solomon Islands with Australia, and the financial links are strong. However, the most vital relationship between the two nations has been in the political level which has been in place since the ethnic conflict first broke out in the late 1990s. “Australia has a deep and longstanding relationship with Solomon Islands. During the Second World War, Australians were involved in the struggle to liberate the islands from Japanese occupation. In the post-war period, people and business links with Solomon Islands have grown steadily and there are now estimated to be around 700 Australians resident in Solomon Islands, mainly in Honiara.” (Solomon Islands Country Brief, 2009). Therefore, Australia has been heavily involved in working to promote stability and growth in Solomon Islands ever since ethnic conflict first broke out in the late 1990s and it has strongly supported the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in the most recent political contexts. In fact, the deep commitment of Australia to the mission of RAMSI reflects the importance of a peaceful and prosperous the Solomon Islands to Australia. Thus, Australia has always regarded the relationship with the Solomon Islands as of great significance which has positively influenced the stabilization process of the political insecurities of the Solomon Islands. “For the past six years Australian soldiers and police have been working to rebuild the strife-torn Solomon Islands.” (Doherty, 2009). In a close analysis of the political overview of the Solomon Islands, the significance of Australia’s intervention and relationships becomes lucid and Australia plays a key role to resolve the political instability in the region in the recent political developments. Thus, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has proved to be a chief contributor to this process and it was formulated on the request of the Solomon Islands Prime Minister to the Australian Prime Minister for Australian assistance. “In Solomon Islands, the risk of state collapse has been defused by the recent formation of RAMSI as a long-term regional response to Solomon Islands request for assistance. The particularly urgent matter of law and order seems to be resolved.” (Rumley, Forbes, and Griffin, 2006, P 308). The RAMSI was proposed and collectively allowed by a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Pacific Islands Forum and it was internationally accepted. Significantly, RAMSI can be comprehended as a long-term commitment aimed at creating the conditions for stability, peace and a growing economy in the Solomon Islands. “On 5 April 2006, Solomon Islands held its first national elections since RAMSI’s arrival. The peaceful elections were monitored by 44 international observers, including 10 Australians… The announcement of Rini as Prime Minister triggered an outbreak of civil unrest in Honiara… Police and military from Australia and other regional partners in RAMSI worked together with the Solomon Islands Police Force to restore calm in the capital.” (Solomon Islands Country Brief, 2009). Therefore, Australia has played a crucial role in the development of political stability in the Solomon Islands and it continues to be an important played in the political activities in the region. Apart from the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, there have been other Australian forces working for the political stability in the Solomon Islands including the Participating Police Force (PPF) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). “As of mid-2009, there are 80 Australian military personnel serving in Solomon Islands as part of RAMSI, supporting a contingent of Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers with more than 150 civilian advisors. The military forces are tasked to provide security for police and civilian staff who make up RAMSI’s Participating Police Force (PPF) - over 220 police from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and state police forces are part of the PPF, which also includes police contingents from around the region.” (Australia in Solomon Islands, 2009). Whereas the importance of Australia’s diplomatic relations with the Solomon Islands is widely recognized, there have been severe criticisms against the policeman role of the nation in the Pacific and it has been indicated by several reports that Australia has not been effective in dealing with the various issues in the Solomon Islands. The Australian government has always perceived the failing states in the Pacific as a threat to Australia, a potential location for drug running, money laundering and terrorism. However, the illegal traffic of arms also poses a serious threat to the stability of the region all together. And there have been several studies that prove the illegal guns and lax security in the Pacific. According to the authorities, the Australian intervention will play a crucial role to bring about law and order, hope, peace and stability in the Pacific region. However, the critics maintain that the measures by the Australian authorities are insufficient to deal with the various issues of the region. Accordingly, restoring law and order in the region may take longer than planned, as the 2000 Australian police and military cannot tackle the law and order problem beyond Honiara. Therefore, a bigger force may be required to deal with criminals fleeing to remote areas and there should be more positive steps to resolve the issues at hand. Significantly, “until the causes of the conflict are resolved there will be no lasting peace, no matter how many Australian troops are deployed… Until land ownership is resolved there will be no gains from development. Land is life in the Solomon Islands, so a land reform needs to be a vital element of peace building… A return to the rule of law must be matched with a long-term strategy to help villages get back to self-sufficiency… Building the judiciary and the police force are vital steps towards peace, but so is economic development.” (Yoldi, 2007). Therefore, the Australian intervention in the Solomon Islands should look into several other issues connected with the political instability in the region. The aid money from nations such as Australia must be invested in health and education and there should be attempts for the improvement of economic condition of the nation. Most importantly, it is essential for the Australian authorities to listen to what the Solomon Islanders really want from this intervention and the rise and involvement of civil society should be the aim of economic development. Such a political intervention by Australia can be effective in bringing about political stability in the Solomon Islands. In conclusion, the role of Australian intervention in the political normalization process of the Solomon Islands has attained mixed responses and the critics of this intervention hold that more constructive and effective strategies must be adopted by the Australian authorities. However, there have been evidences suggesting the positive results of Australia’s relations with the Solomon Islands, which is a nation long troubled by the political instability. Significantly, the political instability and issues in the Solomon Islands necessitated the political intervention of Australia which has been seriously involved in working to promote stability and growth in the region. In short, Australia’s deep and longstanding relationship with the Solomon Islands has resulted in the political stability and economic growth of the Solomon Islands. Bibliography “Australia in Solomon Islands”.2009. Australia. Global Collaborative. http://www.globalcollab.org/Nautilus/australia/australia-in-solomon-islands Doherty, Ben. 2009. “Aiming higher.” The Age.com. http://www.theage.com.au/national/aiming-higher-20090729-e0b3.html Rumley, Dennis., Forbes, Vivian Louis., and Griffin, Christopher. 2006. Australias arc of instability: the political and cultural dynamics of regional security. Springer. P 308. “Solomon Islands Country Brief.” 2009. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government. http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/solomon_islands/solomon_islands_brief.html “Year book, Australia.”  Australian Bureau of Statistics. Aust. Bureau of Statistics. Issue 87. 2005. P. 82. Yoldi, Olga. 2007. “Solomon Islands and the failing of a nation.” Startts.org. http://www.startts.org.au/default.aspx?id=263 Read More