Australia on Wednesday announced the donation of dozens of semi-automatic rifles to the Solomon Islands where it is competing for influence with regional rival China. The Australian Federal Police said the handover of 60 Daniels Defense MK18 rifles and 13 police vehicles was part of an ongoing rearmament program and would help the South Pacific archipelago nation "counter criminal threats and maintain peace and stability." The gifting ceremony was attended by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Australia's commissioner Lachlan Strahan, who said the donation represented another landmark in the longstanding security and policing partnership between the two nations…