Australia has long been a major policing partner in the Pacific. (Image credit: Australian Federal Police)
In short:
A facility has opened in Brisbane to train police officers from across the Pacific.
Regional leaders have endorsed the Pacific Police Initiative, but some suspect it is just a means to counter Chinese influence.
What’s next?
China announces it will provide funding to Vanuatu police and security forces.
Pacific police chiefs say they are ready to deploy more multinational police forces to the region’s hotspots after opening a state-of-the-art training facility in Queensland.
The Brisbane accommodation and training centre is a key pillar of the Pacific Policing Initiative, which will be supported by Australia with $400 million in funding and expertise from the Australian Federal Police.
Papua New Guinea Police Commissioner David Manning said at the official launch of the initiative on Tuesday morning that it “provides a clear, effective and flexible mechanism through which we can provide support to our Pacific families in their time of need”.
Commissioner Manning said in addition to providing training, the Brisbane facility would serve as the headquarters for the Pacific Police Support Group, a multinational group of police officers that could be deployed across the Pacific at short notice.
“We are very close to finalising the legal framework that will guide the delivery of this type of support to Pacific Island nations,” Commissioner Manning said.
Officials including Attorney-General Mark Dreyfuss drink kava at the launch of the Pacific Policing Initiative in Brisbane. (ABC News: Liam Fox)
Pacific leaders endorsed the initiative at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Tonga earlier this year.
Shortly thereafter, about 30 police officers from 11 countries were deployed to Samoa in October as the Pacific Police Support Group after training in Brisbane to provide security for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM.
A number of senior police officers and ministers attended the ceremony in Brisbane along with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw.
Third centre of excellence to be established in Samoa
Samoa Police Minister Lefau Harry Schuster praised police chiefs for implementing the Pacific Policing Plan so quickly, joking that “I’m glad we didn’t do it the Pacific way”.
“The Pacific Way will take a long time and we have been discussing it,” he said.
“We started the practical application of this theory at CHOGM and now we are officially opening these facilities, so I am looking forward to such approaches in the future.”
He also announced that the third “centre of excellence” established under the programme would be based in Samoa and specialise in forensic training.
Pacific leaders have already announced two more centres of excellence will be established in Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Australia will provide $400 million in funding and expertise from the Australian Federal Police to support the initiative. (ABC News: Liam Fox)
The Samoan facility will be based at the Samoa Police Academy in Tafaigata, which is being built by Chinese contractor Shaanxi Construction Co., Ltd with funding provided by China.
Mr Shuster said: “We hope it will open up not only for Samoa but for the region.
While the Pacific Police Action Plan has won broad support from Pacific leaders and police chiefs, it has also sparked some skepticism in the region.
Some officials believe Australia is providing funding purely to prevent China from playing a major policing role in the region.
Australian officials insist the initiative is focused on building the region’s policing capacity to combat the growing threat from organised crime syndicates and drug smuggling gangs – but they also acknowledge they want to ensure there are policing “gaps” that Beijing can fill.
The official opening of the new training centre comes a day after the Australian government announced a new agreement with Nauru that aims to strengthen Australia’s strategic position and ensure China cannot gain a secure foothold on the Pacific island nation.
China also announced yesterday that it would provide significant assistance to the Vanuatu Police and Security Forces, donating four small patrol boats, 20 motorcycles and 20 vehicles at a ceremony in Port Vila.