Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni emphasized the role of police in democratic countries to provide “freedom from fear” when addressing police chiefs from various Pacific island nations on Tuesday, September 3rd. He also pointed out that major global powers’ focus on the region is increasing.
According to Reuters, a senior U.S. drug enforcement official will head to Tonga on Wednesday to participate in the first U.S.-Pacific Island Police Chiefs Dialogue held during the regional police agencies’ annual meeting.
In his keynote address to the police chiefs on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sovaleni stated that the Pacific has become a “key stage” for global interests, and the role of law enforcement is rapidly evolving in response.
“This is not only about security and public safety but also about the freedom from fear, the freedom bestowed upon individuals, the freedom to pursue dreams, ensuring our democratic institutions and processes are not unduly influenced or interfered with,” he said.
The meeting will discuss how to implement the Pacific Policing Initiative funded by Australia and approved last week. The initiative was collectively endorsed by leaders of the 18 member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The Pacific Islands Forum’s 18 formal members include Australia, three countries recognizing Taiwan, French territories, and island nations with defense relations with the United States. In 2022, China sought to establish a regional agreement called the “China-Pacific Island Countries Joint Development Vision” covering policing, security, and information communication with 10 Pacific island nations but failed to materialize.
Prime Minister Sovaleni added that external partners providing resource aid must go through the framework of Pacific Island Police Chiefs.
U.S. officials mentioned that Assistant Secretary of State Todd Robinson, overseeing the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, will travel to Tonga on Wednesday.
Robinson is a key figure in addressing the fentanyl crisis in the United States. Last year, he testified to Congress that this synthetic drug is manufactured using precursor chemicals diverted from China and trafficked through Mexico to the U.S.
Two Chinese citizens suspected of involvement in a fentanyl supply network were deported from Fiji and arrested by the FBI in Hawaii last year.
Last week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, after meeting with Pacific island leaders in Vanuatu, stated that Washington will cooperate with the region to curb criminal networks using the area as a transit point to traffic drugs into the U.S.
Since 2022, China has been actively seeking to expand its law enforcement role in the Pacific region, signing multiple security-related agreements with some Pacific island nations and deploying police to the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, which has raised concerns among U.S. ally Australia.
According to Voice of America, last Friday (August 30), leaders and senior officials from 18 Pacific countries concluded their annual forum in Tonga, agreeing to support a regional policing initiative funded by Australia.
In the joint communique issued that day, Pacific leaders expressed their “support for the Pacific Policing Initiative” and “welcomed Australia’s support for its implementation.” The initiative includes establishing a training center in Brisbane, Australia, setting up four skill centers in the Pacific region, and a mobile team of about 200 officers for responding to natural disasters or other emergencies in the region, reducing the need for external forces.
Australia is investing AUD 400 million (approximately USD 269.6 million) for this initiative.
Some analysts view this outcome as a “victory for Australia,” as it solidifies regional security architecture amid China’s attempts to intervene in Pacific island nations’ security systems.