Downer says troop deployment could be reduced quickly

5.30pm

Military forces about to be deployed in Solomon Islands could be quickly reduced after the operation to restore law and order gets underway, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says.

New Zealand is sending 105 defence force personnel and 35 police officers to the strife-torn Solomons, while Australia is planning a deployment of up to 1500.

Opposition parties have been warning that New Zealand's defence resources could be stretched by the operation, which they think could last years rather than months.

Mr Downer, interviewed on National Radio today, said there was an exit strategy.

"As far as the military component is concerned, they're only going there to provide security for the police in the early stages," he said.

"We hope the military component can be substantially reduced very quickly."

Mr Downer said the police officers that both countries are sending could stay there longer.

"The police will be there for quite some time but once the Solomons police are up and running more effectively, and are able to do the job, then we can be downsizing the police presence," he said.

Mr Downer, like New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff, rejected suggestions the military intervention could be perceived as re-colonisation.

"We're doing this in co-operation with the Solomons Government. It is not re-colonisation," he said.

"The Solomons Government remains sovereign, not us or New Zealand or other Pacific countries. We're working to assist them, not take over."

Mr Goff announced details of New Zealand's commitment yesterday, after the Solomons Parliament unanimously endorsed Prime Minister Allan Kemakeza's call for foreign help.

The deployment is due to begin later this month, with the main force going in during August.

It was reported from Canberra today that the first Australian troops could arrive next week, with up to 300 police following.

Law and order has broken down in the Solomons after three years of ethnic violence. Essential services are barely functioning and the country is almost bankrupt.

Armed gangs and local warlords control some areas, and the Solomons police force has not been able to handle the situation.

The National Party is warning that a long-term deployment will stretch defence force resources, and take up about a third of the air force's helicopters.

The party's foreign affairs spokesman Wayne Mapp said today foreign deployments always lasted longer than initially anticipated.

"There are some serious questions of substainability," he said.

ACT's deputy leader Ken Shirley said there were problems in other Pacific island states which might also have to be addressed.

He cited the situations in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu, Nauru and Kiribati.

"It is clear that both the New Zealand police and our armed forces are under-resourced," he said.

"We now have 730 military personnel committed offshore and, with the replacement and support requirements, the total committed force is three times that number."

Mr Goff denied resources were under strain.

He said defence force chiefs had told the cabinet the Solomons deployment was well within capacity and the police commitment was less than 0.4 per cent of the force.

- NZPA