CANBERRA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Thursday declined to give a timetable of withdrawal of Australian troops from the Solomon Islands, and also left open the option of sending troops to the region.

    Tuesday's parliamentary vote which elected a new prime minister triggered two days of rioting and looting in the South Pacific nation's capital of Honiara.

    The riot is the biggest violence in the island state since Australia, New Zealand and other regional countries sent troops and police there in July, 2003 to help restore social order under the request of the local authority.

    The 260 Australian police and 120 Pacific island police already in the Solomon Islands have been supplemented by 80 Australian police officers and 30 New Zealand officers, together with 110 Australian troops, sent in the past 24 hours.

    Downer said Australian troops currently serving as part of the Australian Regional Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) would serve in the region until next year.

    Downer told Sky News that "the army will have to stay for a while while we get through his difficult political period."

    "When we get a sense that politics is calming down and the people are more comfortable with the new situation ... then we might be able to look at drawing out the troops," he said, adding "but we just don't know at this stage. Let's wait and see what happens over the next week or so."

    Dozens of police, mostly from Australia, have been injured in the riots, which also saw Honiara's commercial area of Chinatown was looted and burnt down.

    Additional troops were on standby in Townsville, a northern city of the state of Queensland where the extra 110 Australian troops and 80 policemen left for the Solomon Islands on Wednesday, and would be deployed to Honiara if needed, Downer said. Enditem