Fiji is rethinking its friends


Briefly: Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said yesterday (Wednesday) he’s reconsidering his country’s long-standing security arrangements with China.

Fiji’s partnership with China kicked off in 2011 under Rabuka’s predecessor, who had initially taken power in a 2006 coup. Among other things, the arrangement offers training in China for Fijian police officers.

But Rabuka (a two-time coup leader himself) is now asking, “if our systems and our values differ, what cooperation can we get from them?”

Intrigue’s take: A year since China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands:

  • 🇳🇿 New Zealand is now finalising a defence agreement with Fiji
  • 🇺🇸 The US is inking or renewing pacts with PNG, Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands, opening new embassies in Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, and new bases in the nearby Philippines, and
  • 🇦🇺 Australia is finalising security pacts with PNG and Vanuatu

By diplomacy’s standards, this is lightning fast. But folks in the Pacific have increasingly bristled at being treated like a geopolitical football. So yes, speed and scale is key. So is sensitivity.

Also worth noting:

  • China has previously said the security agreements benefit Fiji, and it hopes to continue the collaboration.
  • Rabuka won a tense election in December, ending his predecessor’s 16 years in office.
Latest Author Articles
Israel strikes Iran

Thought you could have a nice, relaxed, geopolitics-free weekend? Perhaps pop down to Home Depot if you get time? Wrong.  Following a day of mysterious security alerts for US and Israeli diplomats in the Middle East (suggesting they had intel something was up), Israel has now struck targets in Iran. The dust is still settling, […]

13 June, 2025
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire wobbles

It’s been three weeks since Israel and Hamas signed a deal that put a tentative end to their ~16 months of devastating conflict.  The pact ramped up the flow of aid into the strip and enabled the return of an initial 16 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. […]

14 February, 2025
Did the US just ditch Ukraine?

As world leaders, chief diplomats, and defence leaders alike board their private jets to Munich today, just know that their teams are re-writing every briefing note and messaging strategy in the wake of Washington’s mic drop only hours ago.  Here’s what happened.  Speaking first from Brussels at the UK-chaired Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, the […]

13 February, 2025
Canada’s Trudeau resigns as PM, to stay on until new leader chosen

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resigned as Liberal Party leader and will end his term as PM as soon as an internal party successor has been named, Trudeau told the press at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday morning.  Trudeau’s resignation ends his nine-year term in power, marked by an open-revolt ending with numerous […]

6 January, 2025