Parliamentarians who were under police protection during the riots have also been able to return home, while order has been restored even for islanders in the western Solomons – which bore the brunt of the riots and is where the prime minister comes from.

A curfew that was enforced from 7pm to 6am every night was lifted last month.

The Chinese assistance prompted misgivings among locals and analysts who said it would do little to address anti-Chinese sentiments.

But law enforcement officials in Honiara welcomed the help, describing it as necessary in maintaining peace and stability. One expert described the Chinese engagement as “extremely modest” and initiated by the Solomon government.

Critics have warned that accepting help from Beijing will pave the way for a greater Chinese presence aimed ultimately at displacing the US as the dominant power in the Pacific.

Describing Beijing’s offer of help, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the supplies and personnel would strengthen the local police’s capabilities. China supported the Solomon Islands government in ensuring domestic stability, safeguarding bilateral relations and in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese people on the islands, Zhao said.

The unrest in the Solomons, population 680,000, started on November 24 after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was accused of using Chinese money in a national development fund to sway the votes of members of parliament. Sogavare has rejected allegations of corruption.

The turmoil led to the burning and looting of Chinese businesses, resulting in severe economic losses and making hundreds of Chinese nationals homeless. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month accused “forces with ulterior motives” of inciting riots in the island nation.

The Solomon Times reported on December 30 that the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) had received the riot gear and equipment from Chinese ambassador to the Solomon Islands Li Ming. Commissioner of Police Mostyn Mangau said that the equipment would strengthen the force’s ability to respond to future unrest, the newspaper reported.

Is US-China struggle behind Solomon riots – or ‘just icing on the cake’?

However, there were murmurings among the locals that the gear had arrived late at night, with some likening the delivery to “a secret mission”, as only the RSIPF unit was present to photograph the event.

Lawrence Makili, a leading activist in the Solomon Islands, said he did not support the assistance from China.

“At the end of the day the issue is [about being] anti-China,” Makili said.

“It is obvious that China came in with riot gear to support their puppet in power. Their aim is to crush any upcoming protests,” Makili said.

Benjamin Afuga, a leading social media advocate who blogs mostly on Facebook and who owns the Yumi Toktok Forum, said that given the lingering resentment about the diplomatic switch and the riots that had targeted mostly Chinese businesses, the timing of the equipment was “suspicious to say the least”.

“This diplomatic decision has the potential to deepen speculations and undermine our neighbours, in particular our traditional neighbours such as Australia and New Zealand, who have invested a lot of resources and manpower in the RSIPF,” Afuga said.

Within hours of the riots, Australia and New Zealand had dispatched police personnel and troops to quell the unrest. Most have since returned to their home countries.

Asked what difference the Chinese equipment would make to the RSIPF, Joseph Manelugu, acting deputy commissioner of police in the Solomon Islands, said the force did not have enough resources so the riot gear would “help RSIPF to protect [itself] and those in Honiara and the provinces. Honestly we are limited by our resources and capabilities.”

Closer China ties threaten to tear the Solomon Islands apart

Edward Cavanough, director of policy at The McKell Institute, an Australian public policy think tank, said that the Chinese deployment was an “extremely modest undertaking” compared to the regional mission involving Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji which was 150-strong.

“On the surface, there’s no obvious capability, equipment or skills that the Chinese are providing that wouldn’t already be available to the Solomon Islands’ government,” said Cavanough, who is also a doctoral candidate at The University of Adelaide examining influence in the Solomon Islands and the South Pacific.

Cavanough said the region should not be too alarmed about the Chinese assistance as it was requested by the Solomon Islands government. He added that it was significant that China had offered police advisers rather than troops.

“These individuals won’t do much armed patrolling in the streets of Honiara, but will provide technical and symbolic support to established Solomon Islands’ security forces, which are genuinely under-resourced,” Cavanough said.

Australia and New Zealand were likely to be concerned about the deepening ties between Sogavare’s government and Beijing because they feared China gaining “too much of a foothold in the Pacific”, Cavanough said.

However, Honiara was probably engaging Beijing more actively to gain further concessions, aid and support from Canberra and Wellington, he added.

Hideyuki Shiozawa, a senior programme officer at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Pacific Island nations programme, said that out of the 14 Pacific Island countries, only three – Tonga, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea – had their own defence forces. The rest had to rely on law enforcement authorities such as the police to maintain stability.

Shiozawa said China had been supporting the police and military in the region since the late 1990s. He said that when Tonga switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing in 1998, Beijing had provided non-weapons equipment, uniforms, and technical assistance to Tonga the following year.

“Beijing has also supported police mobile forces in Vanuatu, and police and defence Forces in Fiji,” Shiozawa said, adding that China was signalling it was capable of “contributing to global order and stability in developing countries”.

China was also sending a message to a domestic audience that the government would not stand idly by when Chinese people or interests were being attacked, Shiozawa added.

As for the Pacific Island nations, Shiozawa said there would be “mixed emotions” as most countries had close and friendly relationships with the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Said Shiozawa: “In terms of diversifying partners for economic cooperation and development, China will be strongly welcomed with its economic power, but when it comes to security, order, and law enforcement, Pacific Island countries will be cautious about China because they are democratic countries and uphold democracy.”

Additional reporting by Robert Iroga