Fiji
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Features
Land Power Key for Multidomain Success
FORUM Staff | Photos by AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE DEPARTMENT Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart assumed command of the Australian Army on July 2, 2022, about 35 years after he enlisted as a Soldier. The Chief of Army sat down for an interview with FORUM on the sidelines of the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) conference sponsored by the Association of the United States…
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Features
A Fijian Land Force Perspective
Brig. Gen. Onisivoro Covunisaqa/Land Force Commander, Republic of Fiji Military Forces Fiji is a small island nation in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. We are surrounded by water. Our livelihoods are closely linked to the sea. Due to Fiji’s isolation, the traditional threats within the conflict space — interstate war and armed clashes, territorial disputes and border tensions — are minimal…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Australian, island nations’ police to respond to Blue Pacific emergencies
FORUM Staff A new multinational police force based in Australia will provide security for Blue Pacific nations while also serving as a deterrent to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) push to embed itself with law enforcement agencies in the region. The $271 million Pacific Policing Initiative, underwritten by Australia, includes a new training facility in Brisbane and up to…
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Northeast Asia
Allies, partners enhance all-domain readiness with military exercises across Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff More than 30 allied and partner militaries deployed personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, uncrewed vehicles and other assets across the Indo-Pacific in mid-2024. The multinational, near-simultaneous exercises Pitch Black, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) and Valiant Shield stretched from Oceania and the Western Pacific to Northeast Asia. Tens of thousands of troops joined the all-domain training to build interoperability…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Allies, Partners continue push against IUU fishing
FORUM Staff Seven years after the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed June 5 the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners continue to lead the battle against an illicit activity that the U.N. says has “major implications for the conservation and management of ocean resources, as well as the food security…
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Across The Region
Fiji, France Agree to Expand Defense Cooperation
Fiji and France reached a defense agreement in August 2023 covering technology research, training, logistical support, and emergency and humanitarian assistance. The Status of Forces Agreement “provides a framework for cooperation and assistance through military exchanges and the sharing of expertise between the Republic of Fiji Military Force and the Defence Force of the French Republic,” the Fiji Prime Minister’s…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Long-standing shiprider agreements boost Free and Open Indo-Pacific, protect EEZs
FORUM Staff The shiprider program, the successful multilateral fisheries surveillance and law enforcement effort in the Indo-Pacific, traces its origins to the late 1980s when the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency recommended member countries develop a reciprocal enforcement agreement. The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane partners with local police, fisheries agencies and other officials in Fiji,…
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Features
Unified Resolve
FORUM Staff With the practiced steps of a choreographer, Australian Army Col. Ben McLennan traversed northeast Queensland, careful not to crush the enemy at his heels. Striding across an 8-by-16-meter map dotted with red and blue plastic models of tanks, warships, aircraft and troops, McLennan outlined the unfolding maneuvers of Talisman Sabre to Warrant Officer Ken Robertson, the senior enlisted…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Transnational Repression
FORUM Staff The People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to face international criticism for violating the sovereignty of nations across the globe with its “overseas police service stations,” clandestine offices established in many cases without the approval or knowledge of countries that become their unsuspecting hosts. Rights advocates say the stations are bases from which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
USINDOPACOM Office of Women, Peace & Security holds inaugural gender advisor course
FORUM Staff The United States Indo-Pacific Command’s (USINDOPACOM) Office of Women, Peace & Security (WPS) conducted its first Indo-Pacific Regional Military Gender Advisor Course in Hawaii in late August 2023. The event marked the launch of a five-year training initiative by USINDOPACOM. The WPS Office designed the annual course to develop a trained network of gender advisors from partner nations,…
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