NUKU’ALOFA (AFP) – Pacific Island leaders endorsed a landmark regional policing plan yesterday at a summit in Tonga.
Leaders unveiled a plan to create up to four regional police training centres and a multinational crisis reaction force, backed by USD271 million in initial funding from Australia.
Under the plan, a corps of about 200 officers drawn from different Pacific Island nations could be dispatched to regional hot spots and disaster zones when needed and invited.
“This demonstrates how Pacific leaders are working together to shape the future that we want to see,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, hailing the agreement.
The Australian leader made the announcement while flanked by leaders of Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni, the summit host, said the initiative would plug regional security gaps and tackle emerging threats like organised crime.
“Tonga, like many other countries, are facing a number of transnational security challenges, including an increase in drug trafficking in recent years,” he said.
