By Pita Ligaiula
SUVA, 27 April 2026 — Rewa High Chief and former United Nations security executive Ro Naulu Mataitini has issued a stark public warning that Fiji is “undermining our own diplomats” and allowing foreign influence to hollow out its foreign policy, in a social media statement that sharpens concern about Suva’s ability to defend national interests amid intensifying global competition.
Mataitini said that a combination of political behaviour, weak strategic focus and a tendency to sideline career diplomats has eroded Fiji’s credibility and decision‑making. “There is something about politicians. To get elected, they will promise anything. But once inside Parliament, too many follow their worst instincts,” he wrote, accusing some leaders of succumbing to “ceremonial glorification” and flattery from external actors, and of overestimating their own expertise at the expense of professional diplomats.
Highlighting a long‑running trend, Mataitini said Fiji’s foreign policy “has suffered for years” as other countries expand their footprint in Suva. “Other countries are establishing a presence in Fiji at an accelerating pace. Not consular offices. Not protocol posts. Their presence is strategic — designed to advance their national interests in a region that is becoming increasingly important to global geopolitics,” he said, noting new embassies and non‑resident ambassadors arriving in the capital and being “resourced properly.”
Mataitini directly questioned whether Fiji is matching that effort, asking whether the nation gives the same priority to its ambassadors in Canberra, Beijing, Wellington and Washington. “Are we resourcing our embassies to advance and defend Fiji’s interests? Or are we reducing them to protocol and consular offices?” he asked, urging greater use of insights from Heads of Missions (HOMs) rather than leaving foreign envoys in Suva with “unfettered access” to ministers.
He singled out Australia as a particularly clear example of imbalance, saying Fiji has “now had three Australian High Commissioners who exerted and continue to exert enormous influence over our government,” and accused Fijian politicians of political gullibility that enables Canberra to “sell Australia’s interests brilliantly.” Mataitini’s comments stopped short of naming specific policy decisions, but framed the issue as a systemic failure of resourcing, priorities and political discipline.
The Rewa chief called explicitly for what he described as a “strategic reset” of Fiji’s foreign policy engagement, saying the time to act is “especially now” as global powers intensify activity in the Pacific. His warning arrives against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical interest in the region — a trend Suva has managed by seeking to balance relationships across a widening set of partners — and as other commentators and officials point to the need for strengthened diplomatic capacity to protect small states’ interests.
Mataitini’s intervention, delivered outside formal diplomatic channels, brings a high‑profile traditional voice into a debate about bureaucracy, strategy and influence in Fiji’s external relations. It raises questions about whether the government will respond by changing how it deploys and funds its missions abroad, or by tightening protocols around engagement between foreign envoys and Fijian ministers.