By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand's government on Monday said it will&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;defence&nbsp;personnel&nbsp;in the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;at the request of local authorities until at least Dec. 31, 2023, extending a peace-keeping mission by as much as seven months.
New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;deployed&nbsp;defence&nbsp;force staff to the Pacific country in late 2021 at the request of the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;following anti-government protests alongside&nbsp;defence&nbsp;personnel&nbsp;from Fiji, Papua&nbsp;New&nbsp;Guinea and Australia.
It currently has&nbsp;15&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;Defence&nbsp;Force&nbsp;personnel&nbsp;deployed there who were originally scheduled to pull out by May 31.
"We are proud to be part of this Australian-coordinated, regional effort where police and&nbsp;defence&nbsp;organisations from within the Pacific work together to support the region's own security needs," said&nbsp;New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;Defence&nbsp;Minister Andrew Little.
New&nbsp;Zealand, Australia and other allies and friends have raised concerns about China signing a security pact with the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;and the potential for militarisation of the region.
New&nbsp;Zealand&nbsp;leaders have repeatedly said security challenges in the region should be dealt with by those in the region. The response to the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;has been used to highlight success.
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(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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New Zealand to maintain 15 defence personnel in Solomon Islands through year end