Solomon Islands lauded Australia as its "partner of choice" on Tuesday, a reassuring sign for Canberra as it seeks to counter China's growing influence in the South Pacific.
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles travelled to the capital Honiara to bolster ties with premier Jeremiah Manele, who replaced stridently pro-Beijing leader Manasseh Sogavare earlier this year.
Former diplomat Manele said he wanted relations between Australia and Solomon Islands to "grow to new heights", striking a vastly different tone from his predecessor.
Manele said the visit demonstrated the "strength of our bilateral relations", assuring Marles that "Australia remains Solomon Islands' partner of choice".
"I am ready to discuss the possibility of much, much larger bilateral cooperation partnerships to fast-track transformational undertakings that would help Solomon Islands move forward faster to achieve its economic, social and security objectives," he said in a statement.
Former prime minister Sogavare oversaw the rapid expansion of Chinese interests across the archipelago, and orchestrated the nation's diplomatic switch from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019.
He signed a security pact with Beijing in 2022 that set alarm bells ringing in Western capitals, and he harboured a deep distrust of Australia and the United States.
