The US Department of State has provided $1 million of funding to continue to help clear the Solomon Islands of unexploded World War Two bombs before this year's Pacific Games ©Royal Solomon Islands Police

A $1 million (£809,000/€924,000) project has been launched in the Solomon Islands to continue to help clear unexploded bombs from World War Two in time for this year’s Pacific Games.

The Department of State in the United States has provided funding to The HALO Trust to run the initiative which will be held in conjunction with the country’s Ministry of National Police and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force. 

This project is part of President Joe Biden’s plans to re-establish better relations with countries in the Pacific and help counter the growing influence of China in the region.

The US has provided more than $6.8 million (£5.5 million/€6.3 million) to the Solomon Islands since 2011 to establish a national capacity with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force to identify and destroy unexploded ordnances (UXO) of World War Two.

This has included training 13 engineers who have conducted more than 1,200 UXO callouts and destroyed more than 29,746 items of unexploded bombs. 

The Ministry of National Police and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force are coordinating efforts to clear the country of unexploded bombs ©Royal Solomon Islands Police
The Ministry of National Police and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force are coordinating efforts to clear the country of unexploded bombs ©Royal Solomon Islands Police

Every year, researchers estimate, more than 20 people are killed or seriously injured in the Pacific when one of the thousands of unexploded World War Two-era bombs left behind by the US and Japan is set off.

In 2020, two men were killed in the Solomon Islands helping clear unexploded bombs from World War Two as part of the preparations for the 2023 Pacific Games, which are due to be held between November 19 and December 2.

Britain’s Stephen "Luke" Atkinson, aged 57, and Australian Trent Lee, 40, were working on behalf of non-Governmental organisation Norwegian People’s Aid.

They were killed in the blast in the Solomon Islands’ capital Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal.

The South Pacific nation was a key battleground and its islands, including Guadalcanal, are littered with remnants from land and sea clashes between Allied and Japanese forces.

The Solomon Islands was a key battleground during World War Two ©US State Department
The Solomon Islands was a key battleground during World War Two ©US State Department

As part of the latest initiative, the US will work together with Solomon Islands officials to use existing data and historical records, as well as conducting search activities to update the national database.

The US funding will also provide technical advice while assisting the Ministry of National Police to establish a UXO coordination office to assist future initiatives.