Rewa high chief and former UN security executive Ro Naulu Mataitini has warned that Fiji is “undermining our own diplomats,” accusing politicians of sidelining career envoys and allowing foreign powers to shape the country’s foreign policy to their advantage. In a strongly worded social media statement on April 27, Mataitini said political behaviour, poor strategic focus and inadequate resourcing of Fijian missions overseas have left the country poorly placed to defend its national interests.
“There is something about politicians. To get elected, they will promise anything. But once inside Parliament, too many follow their worst instincts,” Mataitini wrote, accusing some leaders of succumbing to internal ceremonial glorification and external flattery, and thereby losing touch with practical governance. He questioned whether Fiji places the same priority on its ambassadors in Canberra, Beijing, Wellington and Washington as other countries now place on their envoys in Suva. “The honest answer is no,” he said.
Mataitini said the deterioration has occurred as global powers step up their presence in the region. “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 wrote. “New embassies are opening. Non-resident ambassadors are flocking to Suva. They see Fiji as a platform for influence in the Pasifika. They send their best people. They resource them properly.”
He warned that Fiji’s own diplomatic network has been allowed to atrophy, with some missions treated largely as protocol and consular offices rather than as instruments for advancing policy. Mataitini urged greater use of the insights of Heads of Mission (HOMs) and better resourcing for embassies, arguing that without those changes foreign envoys based in Suva risk having “unfettered access to our ministers” and an outsized role in shaping Fijian policy.
The Rewa chief singled out Australia as a primary example of the imbalance. “Take the case of Australia. We have now had three Australian High Commissioners who exerted and continue to exert enormous influence over our government. The current HC is selling Australia’s interests brilliantly. His success is built on our political gullibility,” Mataitini wrote, though he did not name the individual commissioners he was referring to.
Mataitini framed his criticisms as a call for a “strategic reset,” saying Fiji must prioritise resourcing and strategic direction for its foreign service now that the Pacific has assumed greater geopolitical importance. His intervention comes amid wider regional debate about the roles of external powers in Pacific Island states and concerns that small states’ diplomatic capacity must be strengthened to preserve sovereign decision-making.
The statement did not elicit an immediate response from the Fijian government or from the Australian High Commission in Suva in the material published with Mataitini’s remarks. Mataitini’s critique adds a prominent traditional and international voice to ongoing discussions about how Pacific nations should balance engagement with larger powers while protecting their own strategic autonomy.