Rewa high chief and former United Nations security executive Ro Naulu Mataitini has warned that Fiji is “undermining our own diplomats” and allowing foreign influence to shape national policy, in a blunt social media statement that escalates public debate about the country’s foreign policy priorities.
Mataitini said political behaviour and a lack of strategic focus have eroded Fiji’s capacity to defend its interests as external powers deepen their footprint in Suva. “For many years Fiji’s foreign policy suffered,” he wrote, accusing governments of sidelining the professional insights of Fiji’s Heads of Mission and reducing overseas posts to little more than consular or protocol offices. “Are we resourcing our embassies to advance and defend Fiji’s interests? Or are we reducing them to protocol and consular offices? Are we leveraging the insights of our Heads of Missions (HOMs)? Or are we allowing foreign envoys in Suva — with unfettered access to our ministers — to shape our policy to their advantage?”
Mataitini drew attention to an accelerating presence of foreign representation in Fiji: new embassies opening, non-resident ambassadors attending to regional matters from Suva, and missions properly resourced to pursue strategic interests. He argued Fiji has not matched that investment abroad, leaving a gap that foreign envoys are able to exploit. “They see Fiji as a platform for influence in the Pasifika. They send their best people. They resource them properly,” he wrote.
The Rewa chief singled out Australia as a clear example of the imbalance, accusing successive Australian high commissioners of exerting “enormous influence” over Fiji’s government and saying the current high commissioner was “selling Australia’s interests brilliantly. His success is built on our political gullibility.” He also criticised politicians for prioritising their public image and ceremonial status over substantive policy work, suggesting that many lawmakers fall prey to flattery and lose sight of national interest after election.
Mataitini framed his comments as a call for a “strategic reset” of Fiji’s foreign policy, urging leaders to place more value on career diplomats’ expertise and to properly resource Fiji’s missions in capitals such as Canberra, Beijing, Wellington and Washington. “Now ask yourself: how are we responding? Do we place the same priority on our ambassadors in Canberra, Beijing, Wellington or Washington? The honest answer is no,” he wrote.
The statement is the latest public intervention from a senior member of Fiji’s traditional leadership and former international official, adding weight to ongoing concerns about the country’s diplomatic capacity at a time when great-power competition in the Pacific is intensifying. It follows wider regional anxieties about geopolitical shifts and economic vulnerabilities — including recent warnings about global oil price shocks tied to tensions in the Middle East — that make effective foreign representation more important for small island states.
Mataitini’s post did not include a response from government ministers or diplomatic missions. His call for greater strategic focus and resourcing of Fiji’s diplomatic corps sets a new benchmark in public debate over how Suva should navigate mounting external interests and safeguard national priorities.