The ninth annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM) wrapped up today in Auckland, New Zealand. The event brought together Defence Ministers and representatives from Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga. Representatives from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States also joined, alongside Mr. Baron Waqa, the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, who attended as a special guest.
This year’s theme was “Collectively Looking to the Future: Our Region in 2050,” focusing on urgent regional security issues such as climate change, maritime security, and strategic competition. The discussions underscored the importance of enhanced cooperation and a unified strategy for addressing these complex challenges, reaffirming the Pacific nations’ commitment to securing and strengthening the region’s overall security and resilience.
Key outcomes from the SPDMM included the establishment of the Pacific Response Group (PRG), aimed at improving disaster response capabilities across the Pacific. There was also a significant emphasis on maritime security cooperation to enhance domain awareness, with agreements on continued ship-riding cooperation and intelligence sharing to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and transnational crime.
Furthermore, climate change was identified as a critical security issue, ensuring it remains a standing agenda item for future SPDMM meetings. The ministers reiterated their commitment to enhancing regional capacities to respond to climate-induced disasters.
The publication of a report on Non-traditional threats was welcomed, emphasizing how military forces in the South Pacific are addressing a range of non-traditional security challenges, including cyber threats, natural disasters, and health crises, in line with the Boe Declaration on Regional Security. They also supported the establishment of a Pacific Defence Faith Network and committed to advancing the Women, Peace, and Security agenda to tackle recruitment and career progression issues in Pacific militaries.
Additionally, support was expressed for the launch of a regional training framework to improve military training coordination by 2025, and Chile’s initiatives to create the SPDMM Academic Cooperation Network were praised.
Fiji’s delegation, led by Pio Tikoduadua, significantly contributed to the discussions on the Regional Training Framework, which will now include defense civilian training streams, ensuring a thorough approach to building defense capacity in the South Pacific.
The meeting concluded with a united commitment to Pacific-led solutions and a promise to reconvene in Chile for the SPDMM 2025.