As Pacific Islands Forum Leaders gather in Koror for the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (55PILFM), the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) is calling for a pause on moves towards new regional security treaties, urging Pacific governments, civil society and communities to be given a meaningful opportunity to scrutinise and debate what is being proposed.

PANG’s call comes as new regional security frameworks, including the proposed Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Regional Security Treaty (BPOPRST) and Regional Operations Deployment Framework (RODF), move through regional processes.

PANG’s new report, Fortress or Partner? Analysing Regional Insecurities and Pacific Militarisation Through Regional Compacts, warns that these proposals cannot be considered in isolation from the security institutions, bilateral agreements and military deployment mechanisms already taking shape across the Pacific.

Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGO) Alliance Chair and PANG Coordinator Joey Tau said the Pacific must ask whether these developments are strengthening genuine regional partnership or moving the region towards a security architecture increasingly shaped by external powers.

“Is the Pacific becoming a ‘fortress’ instead of a true partner? Right now, a rapid build-up of uncoordinated security frameworks is shaping the Blue Pacific. New legal structures risk locking in external military forces, access and conventional militarisation.

“Shockingly, these frameworks remain completely silent on demilitarisation and nuclear non-proliferation.

“The big question is not whether the region needs security. It is who defines it, who controls it, and who actually bears the consequences.”

With the BPOPRST and RODF now moving through regional processes, PANG argues that Pacific governments and communities must have a meaningful opportunity to assess their long-term implications before permanent international agreements are concluded.

“We need real political control and civic oversight before permanent international agreements are locked in. Our sovereignty is at stake,” Tau added.

“What would a true ‘Ocean of Peace’ look like for Pacific peoples?”

PANG is urging Forum Leaders to ensure that regional security decisions remain firmly under Pacific political control and are guided by the priorities, sovereignty and aspirations of Pacific peoples.

For more information, contact: Jennis Naidu | Media & Communications Manager | Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) | Email: communications@pang.org.fj