Joint Leaders' Statement - Pacific Islands Forum, Tonga

HU'AKAVAMEILIKU, PRIME MINISTER OF TONGA: Honourable Prime Minister's, Excellencies, media, it is my pleasure to speak of this initiative. Tonga has been fully supportive of the Pacific Policing Initiative. Tonga has, through its Police Commissioner, been involved since its inception, through the Pacific Islands Chief of Police. The Pacific Island Chief of Police is now leading on the design of the Pacific Policing Initiative as a new integrated regional policing capability to support foreign members. It is designed around three pillars. First, regional policing centers of excellence. The second one is Pacific policing support group. And thirdly, Pacific policing development and coordination hub. As you would know, Tonga, like many other countries, are facing a number of transnational security challenges, including seeing an increase in drug trafficking within the Pacific in recent years. Tonga, like many foreign members, therefore, think that it's really important to have a Pacific led, Pacific owned initiative that reinforces the existing regional security architecture. In considering this initiative this morning, leaders have recognised the importance of ensuring fit for purpose, contextualised design that recognises the unique policy needs of our members. The central tenet of this initiative is that forum members would have the discretion to choose how they would contribute to and benefit from the three pillars identified in respect of national sovereignty and in line with national priorities. Tonga sincerely thanks Australia for funding this critical initiative. Tonga looks forward to continuing to work with Australia and foreign members to bring this initiative to fruition. I thank you, Malo 'Aupito.

SITIVENI RABUKA, PRIME MINISTER OF FIJI: Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen of the press corps, media corps. Great to be here in support of this initiative that was agreed on this morning. Fiji has always been very, very interested in this. We are a major beneficiary of the cooperation's of the past. Most of our senior police officers had been trained in the region and some further abroad, and this, bringing this to the region has been a godsend for us. Most of the problems we face are regional problems and the rest of the world, we believe, targeting our region. So it's our responsibility to develop our own policing initiative, and this case, we've come together to establish this concept and cooperate towards it. I'm sure it will succeed for our benefit and our level.

JAMES MARAPE, PRIME MINISTER OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA: All right, thank you. Thank you. I joined my fellow Pacific leaders in announcing to the Pacific that we have the Pacific Police Initiative being formally endorsed by the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. It is a concept that is born from within. Security challenges are always present and emerging. New security risk emerges also as we go forward into the future, whether it's cyber security, high sea security or domestic security, we live in a world now where what happens in one country affects the other country. The Pacific needs to build its security apparatus so we could lend a hand to each other or within. I want to announce that Papua New Guinea, in partnership with our traditional security partner, Australia, our security partner of choice. We are embarking upon a Center of Excellence that in the first instance, in the absence of similar center of excellences around the region, it's a regional center of excellence we putting up in Western Pacific for all in Pacific to use in the first instance, as we embark upon extending similar programs in Central Pacific and elsewhere in our Pacific. Security abounds, we see in western parts high sea crime, whether it's drug related or economic related, illegal fishing abound in our big space. The entire Pacific is the biggest unpoliced space in planet earth. Considering our airspace and sea space, it is a bigger space, and this, it is really important that we come together in this manner. And I think one of the historical and key outcomes of this 53rd PIF is the establishment of the Pacific College Initiative. And we just want to commend our big partners in our own region, especially Australia and New Zealand, for always being cognizant and conscious of the needs in the region. And I want to appreciate this initiative. PNG stands ready to support Commissioner Manning, is the first Commissioner now in terms of the current mobilisation of police commissioners in the region. We're looking forward to whatever capacity we step up we expand elsewhere. The need is very obvious and needless to point out, but our combined participation in entering the Solomon Islands games and Solomon Islands elections completed safely. We saw resources from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and PNG mobilized. Today I arrived in Tonga, and I saw good policemen and policewoman here in Tonga. My heart is happy. And so it's important that the entire Pacific builds up its own inter regional capacities. So we lend a hand to each other keeping our region safe from crimes and criminals operating in Pacific. Thank you very much.

SURANGEL WHIPPS, JR, PRESIDENT OF PALAU: As Prime Minister Marape said, and Prime Minister of Tonga, this is Pacific led initiative, Pacific focused initiative, and it really is an effort for all of us to work together to solve the security, I would say, challenges that we have. We have IUU, we have now drugs, human trafficking. Palau, in the last year, got hit with three major cybersecurity incidents. It is so important that we develop our local police forces and be able to collaborate and work together to meet the challenges. Without peace and security, we cannot prosper as Pacific Islands. And I was just, I arrived last night, but I, you know, I'm flying across the vast Pacific, realise how big the blue continent is and how we are being challenged at every angle. But you know one of the, I think, great programs that, and we're so grateful for Australia for leading and supporting this initiative is the Patrol Boat Program. I think one of the reasons why IUU, at least in Palau, has dropped, is that presence is deterrence. And so we need to continue to focus and build those internal capacities that we can combat crime and the challenges we face. So really, thank you. And it's a great day to celebrate and support this important initiative. So thank you.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, thank you so much. And it's a great honour for me to share this press conference here with the leaders of Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Palau. And this is a Pacific led initiative, very importantly. This is something that has arisen from the Pacific family to look after the Pacific family, ourselves. Our Pacific neighbours stand with each other, and we help each other in times of need. And it is good that this morning we endorsed the Pacific Policing Initiative. It was a major objective that we had from this Pacific Islands Forum meeting. This demonstrates how Pacific leaders are working together to shape the future that we want to see. The first task of any national leader is to look after the security and safety of our residents, and that is what this is about. Making sure that by working together, the security of the entire region will be much stronger and will be looked after by ourselves. There are three pillars to this initiative. The first is regional police training Centres of Excellence, where there will be up to four, to be located in Pacific countries to undertake specialist police training and support. Secondly, the Police Support Group, a trained pool of officers from multiple Pacific countries ready to deploy in response to requests for assistance to major events or to provide support in times of crisis. We've seen police forces provide assistance for everything from the Pacific Games to elections that are held. What this will do, though, is to make that a more stable commitment that is ready to go upon requests which are made. And thirdly, the Pacific Policing Initiative Policing Development and Coordination Hub, which we are proud to host in Brisbane, in Australia, for training and deployment preparation. This will improve capability, cooperation and importantly, interoperability between Pacific police forces. This will benefit all Forum Members and security of our communities and our region. And of course, sovereign nation states will determine how they participate in this. But this is an ongoing process led by the Pacific police and police chiefs for the Pacific, with backing, substantial financial backing, from Australia. We'll provide substantial long-term support to ensure that this initiative succeeds and delivers on the aspirations for our region. This includes financial support for establishment and infrastructure costs, as well as supporting Pacific police to receive training which contributes to each country's unique internal security needs. This is a great outcome and it was very positive, the response from the many leaders who spoke in support of this initiative today to make sure that this endorsement means it can go forward. Our Pacific police chiefs have been meeting regularly. What this does is build on that and make sure that they can go forward with the confidence that the leaders of the Pacific are supporting this initiative. And hence that endorsement was very important today. And I thank particularly our hosts, the Kingdom of Tonga, for their support in hosting today and in providing the leadership that we've seen in today's plenary session. Thanks a lot.