Australia rejects claim its security forces in Solomon Islands were told not to protect Chinese-built buildings

Australian soldiers patrol the burned-out area of Honiara's Chinatown on 2 December 2021, after riots erupted in the Solomon Islands’ capital. Photograph: Gary Ramage/[email protected]/AFP/Getty Images

Australia has refuted claims that Australian security forces deployed to Solomon Islands’ capital Honiara to quell last November’s riots were instructed not to protect Chinese-built infrastructure.

The claim was made by former Solomon Islands prime minister, Danny Philip, who is now the chair of the current government’s, foreign policy advisory subcommittee.