Battle continues in Solomon Islands against UXOs eight decades after WWII

Wednesday, 19 March 2025, 7:13 pm
Article: RNZ

Susana Suisuiki, Pacific Waves Presenter/Producer
Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific Bulletin Editor

More than 80 years since the Battle of Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands, communities today are still grappling with the unexploded devices left behind.

The major battle in World War Two resulted in thousands of unexploded and abandoned ordnaces (UXOs/AXOs) that litter the islands today.

Humanitarian group, The Halo Trust, has been surveying the country's airfields, ammunition stores, and former military encampments since 2023 and has identified 22 hazardous areas so far.

Programme manager Chris Teasdale told Pacific Waves that the trust has two teams in Honiara conducting non-technical surveys, and two teams in Munda, Western Province, conducting a big mapping exercise.

However, he said more needs to be done.

"The whole of the Solomon Islands is vast and logistically challenging.

"The information we're getting together, we're then passing on to the police, which will support them in identifying areas and disposal of items."

He said people in the Solomon Islands have learned to live with abandoned bombs.

"This is an 80-year problem," he said.

"It's just slowly been kind of chipped away at. The Solomon Islands has developed a lot; it's grown a lot.

"The population has grown, and they've been able to work around that."

He said the police often turn up "within a few hours" to dispose of items, and education for locals to adapt or to be safe around items they find is helping a lot.

In 2021, one person was killed and others injured in Honiara when an American 105mm shell exploded. The group of four young people had built a woodfire to cook food for a fundraiser, unaware that buried directly underneath was a projectile left over from the war.

In 2020, two aid agency workers were killed while surveying for UXOs.

Last August, 202 unexploded ordnances were removed from a school site.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Department's executive director Clifford Tunuki said the incident was an eye-opener for schools, domestic, and commercial houses to think about site inspection for UXOs before they start erecting buildings.

But it is not just the Solomon Islands left littered with UXOs; nine Pacific nations deal with this.

Palau operations manager for Norwegian People's Aid, Roger Hess, said mishandled munitions can kill people.

"Palau has not had an accident in decades, but that doesn't mean there is no potential for it," Hess said.

In Nauru in 2023, almost half of the population was evacuated while the Australian Defence Force relocated an unexploded ordnance.

Experts say that poor data collection and coordination are preventing Pacific island governments from combating the menace, including accessing international assistance.

Teasdale said removing unexploded ordnances in the Solomon Islands will likely take years. The Halo Trust has been in the country for just over two years.

"I can easily see this being another five years, maybe even a 10-year project, but until we fully understand the kind of what we're dealing with, it's going to be hard to put a date on.

"We've done a lot of work in Honiara, but until we can push out the islands over the coming months, it's hard to get that kind of timeline."

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