WELLINGTON/SUVA — New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has told reporters there is no immediate risk to Pacific leaders travelling to Palau for this year’s Pacific Islands Forum, but said Wellington stands ready to step in if rising fuel pressures in global markets worsen and begin to threaten travel to the August meeting.
“At this point we don’t see any risk of that. There is no risk to any fuel disruption for us and that’s a good thing. But August is a long way away,” Luxon said on 16 April, adding New Zealand had made contingency arrangements should member states require help. So far, he said, no leaders had asked for assistance.
The statement follows mounting concern across the region about higher fuel prices and longer supply chains affected by conflict in the Middle East — developments that have already prompted Pacific governments to warn of knock-on effects for electricity, transport and costs of essential goods. New Zealand has previously provided practical travel support to Pacific leaders, flying delegates to the Forum in Tonga in 2024 and again to the leaders’ meeting in Honiara in September 2025, underlining the precedent for regional logistical assistance.
Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr — who visited New Zealand last week — also downplayed immediate disruption, telling Pacific Mornings he did not expect the fuel situation to worsen and thanking partner countries for offers of help. “I don’t think that [the fuel crisis] should affect [leaders] coming to PIF but we’re very grateful to New Zealand, Australia and the United States who are willing to go around and pick up leaders and bring them to PIF,” Whipps said.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters framed the discussion within broader security concerns facing the region, saying upcoming meetings in Palau and New Zealand are important moments for the Pacific to act in concert. “The region faces a very challenging global strategic environment, and in this context, Pacific countries best advance our shared interests when we work together, showing strength through unity,” Peters said in a government release.
Officials also noted institutional continuity: New Zealand and Palau are scheduled to be part of the Forum’s leadership group next year, and the wider Asia-Pacific diplomatic calendar will soon include a Jakarta meeting where nuclear-weapons-related security concerns will be discussed. Those high-level gatherings, combined with the current fuel price volatility, have pushed issues of transport resilience and emergency logistics to the top of regional planning agendas.
The developments come alongside other recent Pacific initiatives aimed at strengthening resilience: Tonga this month launched a five-year multi-hazard strategy focused on risk communication and community engagement, while scientists released a study ranking the Hawaiian monk seal among marine mammals most at risk from plastic pollution — underscoring the interconnected environmental and logistical vulnerabilities facing small island states.
For now, regional leaders are expected to travel to Palau as planned, but Luxon’s comments — and Palau’s willingness to accept logistical support — signal Canberra, Wellington and Washington are monitoring fuel markets and distribution closely and prepared to assist should supply pressures translate into real travel disruptions.
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