“The Pacific is not always calm,” warned Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka as he opened the second Pacific Regional and National Security Conference in Suva.
“It has been a theatre for war, a testing ground for dangerous weapons, and now a frontline of climate change and transnational crime.”
The conference, convened by the Pacific Security College, brings together prime ministers, senior officials, law enforcement, civil society, and academic experts to shape a Pacific-led response to complex regional threats from climate change and cybercrime to transnational drug trafficking and illegal fishing.
Delivering the keynote address, Rabuka warned that “the region’s outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji’s independence,” citing rising geopolitical tension and accelerating climate impacts.
At the heart of his message was the Ocean of Peace Declaration, a regional initiative he proposed in 2023 and which leaders are expected to endorse at the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in the Solomon Islands.
“Peace is not something achieved through our police or security forces alone,” Rabuka said. “It also requires families and communities, societies and nations that are built on the foundations of harmony, stability, satisfaction with life, and freedom from want and fear.”
Niue Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi urged delegates to reflect deeply on the meaning of security in the Pacific context.
“What does security mean to you?” he asked. “Security is one of the most complex areas of government policy because it touches every part of who we are our people, our land, our values, our spirituality, our resources, and our oceans. If we can protect these, we will have done right by our future and our grandchildren.”
“Let this conference be more than a conversation,” Tagelagi added. “Let it be a commitment to act, to implement, and to lead.”
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa reinforced the importance of aligning regional peace efforts with long-standing frameworks like the Boe Declaration on Regional Security and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
“The Ocean of Peace Declaration offers us a principled foundation, anchored in sovereignty, resilience, inclusion, and regional solidarity,” Waqa said. “It is more than a statement. It is a pledge to lead with peace, embed it across our institutions, invest in conflict prevention, and protect our people and environment.”
As the conference continues this week in Suva, delegates will focus on building practical steps to bring the Ocean of Peace Declaration to life through national security agreements, regional partnerships, and community efforts.