Solomon Islands Plans Its Own Military Force Against Background of Growing Allegiance to Beijing

The small Pacific nation has not maintained a military force since independence from British colonial rule in 1976.

This picture taken on April 21, 2024, shows an islander walking past the recently-built National Stadium, gifted by the Chinese Communist Party, in Honiara, capital city of the Solomon Islands. Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Only three Pacific Island nations—Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji—currently maintain standing militaries, but that number is set to increase after the Solomon Islands decided to establish its own military.

The nation of hundreds of islands in the South Pacific with a population of 734,887, according to the 2023 estimate, hasn’t had a defence force since 1976, when Britain ended its colonial rule.