Fiji currently does not face any direct external military threats or concerns about invasion; however, the nation’s most significant security risk stems from the potential for a region characterized by division, insecurity, and instability.
This assertion is detailed in Fiji’s Foreign Policy White Paper 2024, which was launched by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.
The document emphasizes that fostering a stable Indo-Pacific region is Fiji’s primary strategic objective.
One of the main challenges confronting the Indo-Pacific is the establishment of a stable balance that will help manage the strategic rivalry between the United States and China while laying the groundwork for a future stable multipolar region.
The report posits that achieving this goal will likely take generations.
The Indo-Pacific is a complex area where the interests of superpowers, major powers, and smaller states converge. This diversity necessitates arrangements that do not force countries into a singular strategic framework, such as a bipolar system.
Creating a multipolar region will call for flexible structures that carefully balance interests and allow for shared strategic space. According to the report, we are still far from realizing this ideal.
The paper indicates that, in the medium term, power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific will primarily operate along bipolar lines.
There will be a notable power disparity between the US and China compared to a group of major powers, which includes India, Indonesia, and Japan.
Over the long term, however, the distribution of power may become more spread out, with more states seeking the flexibility to navigate this increasingly complex strategic landscape without being intricately aligned with either of the predominant powers. This reflects the essence of a multipolar system.