Pacific defence ministers slow expansion of regional response force in Fiji

Pacific defence ministers have signalled they will not rush to expand the Pacific Response Group, following talks in Fiji. The meeting brought together ministers from Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga under the South Pacific Defence Ministers' Meeting. The group was formed in 2024 to improve coordination for natural disaster response across the region.

Sponsored

Australia's defence chief said any change to the force must have "absolute consensus" among Pacific countries. Ministers had previously agreed to consider giving the group a broader role, including possible stabilisation operations for Pacific nations that request military help to deal with civil unrest. Senior Pacific military officers also backed work in May on a proposed regional treaty framework to govern deployments.

The latest position suggests a slower path for a project that has been discussed as a way to make regional responses more coordinated and faster. The Pacific Response Group was originally designed around disaster relief, but the debate has widened to include security and legal questions. Those questions include what authority would govern deployments and what legal immunity personnel would receive when sent to another country.

The issue carries wider geopolitical weight because the force is being discussed in a region where security partnerships are closely watched. The supporting material says the proposal can be seen by some Pacific states as part of a broader effort by Australia and its allies to limit China's influence in the security space. It also comes as some Pacific governments are balancing external security cooperation with domestic political pressures.

Sponsored

Fiji is one of the countries at the centre of that balancing act. The supporting material notes that the country is in an intense domestic debate on constitutional reform and is likely to hold elections before February next year. That makes the question of any future regional deployment framework politically sensitive, especially if it involves rapid decisions during a crisis.

What remains unclear is how quickly ministers will return to the question of expanding the group's remit, and whether they can agree on a treaty framework. The talks in Fiji show there is interest in broader cooperation, but also caution about moving ahead without full agreement. The next stage will depend on whether Pacific governments can settle the legal and political details needed for any future deployments.

#PacificResponseGroup #SouthPacificDefenceMinistersMeeting #Fiji #Australia #regionalsecurity