By Pita Ligaiula
SUVA, 7 April 2026 — A new report has found that China’s law enforcement engagement across the Pacific has moved beyond training and technical assistance into more operationally embedded roles, marking a significant expansion of Beijing’s footprint in the region’s policing space.
The research, released this week, concludes that China’s foreign law enforcement assistance “has expanded over the past two decades” and that Pacific Island countries are increasingly part of a broader overseas policing strategy. What began as capacity-building and occasional training exchanges, the report says, “has developed into more operationally embedded relationships in several countries,” with Chinese police personnel working more closely alongside local forces in day-to-day policing activities.
The pattern of engagement is uneven, the authors note. The Solomon Islands stands out as China’s most prominent Pacific policing partner, reflecting a visible and growing security relationship with Beijing. At the same time, smaller states such as the Cook Islands have also received sustained Chinese police engagement, demonstrating that the reach extends beyond larger partners to include some of the region’s smaller jurisdictions.
A striking finding is that Chinese police teams are not simply supplementing existing partnerships but, in some cases, competing with other international actors already active in the region. The report quotes instances where “Chinese police liaison teams have in some instances sought to discourage partners from other countries,” signaling a willingness to press operational influence in environments where Australia, New Zealand and other traditional partners have long been active.
Analysts say the shift matters because it changes the texture of security cooperation in the Pacific. Rather than a clear public‑security division where Western partners focus on certain tasks and newer partners concentrate on training, the policing space now features overlapping roles and multiple external actors operating in close proximity. That creates opportunities for Pacific governments to diversify support but also raises questions about coordination, standards and accountability when foreign officers are embedded in local operations.
Regional responses are already adapting. Canberra’s A$400 million Pacific Policing Initiative announced last year and other capacity-building programs remain central to Australia’s strategy to bolster policing across the region. New Zealand and Pacific island states have likewise continued high-level engagement on policing and security, including deployments and exchanges. The report frames China’s approach as cumulative rather than overtly confrontational: Beijing is steadily building ties and expanding its presence in ways designed to avoid direct clashes with established partners.
For Pacific governments, the evolving landscape reflects a pragmatic balancing act: leveraging new sources of assistance while preserving relationships with long-standing security partners. As the policing footprint in the Pacific becomes more crowded and operationally complex, the report urges closer attention to how multiple external providers are coordinated on the ground, how local governance and legal oversight are maintained, and what long-term effects these embedded relationships will have on sovereignty and regional stability.
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