‘Regional ownership matters most,’ Pacific foreign ministers say amid fragile bloc unity
- Admin
- 1 minute ago
- 2 min read
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Foreign affairs leaders called on the Pacific Islands Forum to “remain united around” the region’s own priorities, including its own security challenges, in the face of growing geopolitical rivalry and the superpowers’ influence-peddling in the Pacific.
“It is precisely in times such as these that regional ownership matters most,” said Rick Houenipwela, chair of the Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting.
Pacific foreign ministers recognized that the region's own security framework has become increasingly complex and fragmented, hence the need for "a cohesive architecture, supported by agile and responsive regional mechanisms."
During a meeting held in Suva, Fiji on Aug. 7, the ministers endorsed the draft Regional Peace and Security Action Plan 2026-2030, which aims to strengthen coordinated responses to various security challenges facing the Pacific region, such as transnational organized crime and climate-related security threats.
While noting the merits of the island states’ partnerships with donor nations, Houenipwela emphasized that the region’s agenda “must continue to be conceived by the Pacific, shaped by the Pacific and owned by the Pacific,” a formula that he said built the bloc’s “strategic strength.”
The Pacific Islands Forum’s foreign ministers' meeting was held in preparation for the upcoming 55th PIF Leaders Meeting in Palau.
Themed “Building Economies: Life. Action. Unity,” the leadership meeting will be held in Koror from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4, in the wake of a heightened challenge to regional unity following China’s recent missile test, which was collectively denounced by Western and Asian governments.
The Pacific foreign ministers’ forum ended without agreeing on a unified response to China's July 7 missile test-launch, which landed in the South Pacific.
Global Fiji News reported that Nauru and Kiribati declined to support the other forum members' positions.
“That even as our strategic environment becomes more complex, the Pacific's response should not be fragmentation or division,” said Houenipwela, Solomon Islands’ foreign affairs minister. “It should be greater regional solidarity, stronger consensus and continued confidence in our own regional institutions and processes.”
The U.S. and China have stepped up their competition, centered on the race for military supremacy, increasing the demand for the Pacific region’s involvement.
Largely keeping their distance from geopolitics, Pacific island states have outlined their own non-military-related security agenda, including economic integration, climate action, ocean governance, technology, connectivity and institutional reform.
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“And there has never been a more important time for the Pacific Islands Forum to remain united around our own priorities,” Houenipwela said.
“The matters before us today reflect that responsibility—from strengthening our peace and security architecture, advancing the 2050 International Engagement Strategy, deepening regional integration, preparing for COP31, and ensuring our partnerships continue to serve Pacific priorities.”
Pacific foreign ministers have agreed in principle to the proposed institutionalization of the Pacific Police Ministers Meeting as a decision-making mechanism within the Forum.
Further consultations will take place at the national level and recommended its referral to PIF leaders for consideration.
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