The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare has welcomed last week's federal government decision to increase the Australian army and federal police numbers.
Mr Sogavare says Australia should do more in a preventative role and cited the April riots in Honiara as an instance where Australia should have, in his opinion, acted sooner.
However he says Australia’s dominance of regional peacekeeping operations, like the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, known as RAMSI, should be balanced by allowing Pacific Islanders into the Australian army.
Last Thursday, Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced an extra 2,600 personnel for the army citing ongoing and possible increased instances of destabilised and failing states in the Pacific region.