Pacific Island leaders endorse groundbreaking joint policing plan

Leaders unveiled plans for four regional police centers, with 200 officers ready to deploy to hot spots and disasters. (AP photo)

NUKU’ALOFA: Leaders of the Pacific Island nation approved a landmark regional police plan at a summit in Tonga on Wednesday, a controversial move seen as an attempt to limit China’s security role in the region.

The leaders presented a plan to establish up to four regional police training centres and a multinational crisis response force, backed by an initial $271 million in funding from Australia.

Under the plan, a corps of about 200 officers from various Pacific Island nations could be deployed to regional hot spots and disaster areas if needed and upon invitation.

“This shows how leaders in the Pacific are working together to shape the future we want to see,” said Australian Prime Minister Albanese, who praised the agreement.

The Australian leader made the announcement while flanked by leaders from Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Tonga – a symbolic show of unity in a region torn by competition between China and the United States.

Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni, the summit’s host, said the initiative would close regional security gaps and tackle emerging threats such as organised crime.

“Tonga, like many other countries, faces a number of transnational security challenges, including an increase in drug trafficking in the Pacific in recent years,” he said.

The big game

Mihai Sora of the Lowy Institute, a Sydney think tank, said Wednesday’s announcement was a diplomatic victory for Australia and the Pacific Islands Forum, a regional bloc that appeared deeply divided over the issue.

China’s Pacific allies – notably Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands – had expressed concern that the police plan represented a “geostrategic security denial” doctrine aimed at shutting Beijing out.

While all members of the forum support the agreement in principle, national leaders must decide to what extent and, if so, to what extent they wish to participate.

Tonga’s Sovaleni said Pacific countries “have the authority to choose how they contribute and benefit”.

Partner of your choice?

Australia and New Zealand have traditionally been the region’s key security partners, leading peacekeeping missions in the Solomon Islands and providing training in Nauru, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

However, the police have increasingly become a cornerstone of Beijing’s efforts to expand influence in the Pacific.

China attempted to forge a regional security pact in 2022 but failed. Since then, it has equipped some understaffed police forces in the Pacific with martial arts training and fleets of Chinese-made vehicles.

Australia and the United States, a staunch ally, were caught by surprise in 2022 when China secretly signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, details of which have not been made public.

China now has a small but noticeable police force on the ground, sending a rotating team of officers to train locals in shooting and riot control techniques.

Brand new police vehicles drive through the capital Honiara, decorated with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force emblem and striking red “China Aid” stickers.

Earlier this year, Beijing also began sending teams of police advisers to Kiribati.

There are fears in Washington that China will one day translate these agreements into a permanent military position in the region.

‘Not done yet’

According to the Lowy Institute’s Sora, Canberra hopes it will “close the door on China seeking a regional security agreement”.

Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told AFP on Wednesday that his country was keen to “work with Australia” to implement the proposal.

However, others still expressed their doubts.

Solomon Islands’ senior diplomatic official Colin Beck told AFP that Honiara would hold domestic discussions about the plan before anything was finalised.

“We have a national process that we need to delve into,” said Beck, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We are basically reviewing our national security strategy and everything, so it will be part of the conversation,” he said.

“The case is still ongoing. The forum is not ready yet.”