The Chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee has called for an urgent increase in the number of maritime officers, warning that the country’s vast ocean territory remains under protected.
Member of Parliament for East Areare, Hon. Peter Kenilorea Jnr, raised the issue during the recent Motion of Sine Die in Parliament, stressing that Solomon Islands must strengthen its maritime security to safeguard national sovereignty.
Kenilorea said Solomon Islands is fundamentally a maritime nation, with an ocean territory covering approximately 1.6 million square kilometres compared to a landmass of just 28,000 square kilometres.
“Therefore, we are rightly a maritime nation, and as such we need to act more as a maritime nation by not turning our back to the ocean as we often do,” he said.
He highlighted the importance of international agreements such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, noting that maritime security is not only a domestic issue but one that directly affects foreign relations and sovereignty.
“This is very important for us because it is a foreign issue. It is not just a matter of space in the ocean, but it directly impacts our sovereignty,” Kenilorea said.
He pointed out that Solomon Islands shares maritime borders with five Pacific countries—Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Australia and France through New Caledonia—making maritime security a defining national concern.
“All our borders are maritime borders and that is something that pretty much defines us as a nation,” he said. “The security of that space becomes of vital interest to us.”
Kenilorea noted that the country currently has fewer than 70 maritime officers, a number he described as insufficient to effectively monitor and protect the nation’s maritime domain.
“That is a clear indication that we will need to boost our maritime officers to the number that is needed,” he said, adding that any increase must also be supported by appropriate equipment and infrastructure.
He also called for greater use of technology, including drones alongside satellite surveillance, to enhance monitoring and enforcement capabilities.
“This is a very important part of our nation’s makeup, and the time has come for us to invest, evolve and increase our maritime capacity,” Kenilorea said.
By AGNES MENANOPO
Solomon Star, Honiara
