U.S. Ambassador to PNG, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands Walter North joined members of the U.S. military and NGO partner Golden West to celebrate the graduation ceremony of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit.
He also donated equipment valued at about $200,000 to Solomon Islands for use in unexploded ordnance (UXO) recovery.
Ambassador North praised the RSIPF and U.S. military divers for their teamwork in this important endeavour: “The United States values its longstanding relationship with the Solomon Islands and appreciates the efforts of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in rehabilitating the contaminated areas.”
Unexploded ordnance remaining from World War 11 still impacts Solomon Islands.
Mortars, grenades, and other combustible materials are hazards to villages, waterways, and to future development. Some of these materials have been used as “fish bombs” to the detriment of the marine environment.
Since 2011, the United States has provided more than $1.8 million to support explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and clearance in Solomon Islands and to build the capacity of the RSIPF to facilitate the detection and removal of potentially harmful ordnance.
The RSIPF has since disposed of over 25,000 UXO items and has supported public safety calls to decommission UXO in communities. During the current training on the Underwater Detection System, the RSIPF operators discovered 3 aircraft in less than six hours and it is believed that there are more aircraft in the waters around Guadalcanal. The new Underwater Detection equipment will allow the RSIPF to use sonar and other systems to more accurately identify and recover unexploded ordnance.