Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers and Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), assisted by ADF personnel, safely identified a stockpile of World War II-era munitions and other hazardous materials in Vanuatu.

On July 17, the team catalogued a six-inch naval shell, a hand grenade, a 55mm mortar round and 11 sticks of emulsion explosives located around Cook Barracks in Port Vila.

The multinational contingent visited Vanuatu as part of Operation Render Safe, which identifies and disposes of explosive remnants of war (ERW) across Pacific island countries.

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains commonplace in Vanuatu, which hosted hundreds of thousands of Allied personnel during World War II.

VMF Corporal Willie Reuben Siri said a technical reconnaissance was an essential first step before planning the safe disposal of the munitions.

He said the VMF was continuing to develop its explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) capability and that Pacific partners, such as the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, played an important role in safely identifying and disposing of the legacy of World War II.

"I've worked with Australia plenty," Corporal Siri said.

"But it's a good opportunity to have the Solomon Islands’ boys here. It's a good thing that I will learn from them."

In 2014, Corporal Siri completed a Royal Australian Engineers promotion course at Holsworthy Barracks and is now the VMF's demolitions subject matter expert.

'It's great to see that Solomon Islands is keen to establish those relationships and helps out their neighbours as well.'

He said observing the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and ADF teams reinforced many of the procedures he learned when he qualified in malfunctioned ordnance disposal training in Australia.

He said he was looking forward to the next phase of the operation, when the ordnance could be safely disposed of.

ADF adviser to the VMF Major Zachary Klein said strong relationships with Pacific partners were critical to improving Vanuatu's EOD capability.

Operation Render Safe enhances regional security by building Pacific partner capability through training, mentoring and sharing explosive ordnance disposal expertise.

"The VMF doesn't have the capability to conduct explosive ordnance disposal," Major Klein said.

"Render Safe is one of the vehicles for disposing of explosive remnants of war in Vanuatu.

"It's great to see that Solomon Islands is keen to establish those relationships and helps out their neighbours as well."

Operation Render Safe supports Pacific-led security through the safe disposal of explosive remnants of war, while strengthening the security capabilities of Pacific partners through mentoring and training.

The ADF has worked alongside Pacific partners for more than 20 years to build regional collective explosive ordnance disposal capability through Operation Render Safe.