Page 7 - IB September 2018 Edition

We Say

treated in such an appalling if not mediocre way. Taipei may find Beijing contemptible but both capitals are
When a group of Pacific journalists (including the editor of long standing donors and therefore partners of the 19 coun-
this magazine) were detained at Jackson International Airport tries and territories that are members of the Pacific Islands
as they arrived for the 46th Pacific Islands Forum that Papua Forum, and much as they disliked each other, both have a
New Guinea was hosting in 2015 because they did not have place and role in our part of the Ocean.
the journalist visa on their passports, a call was made for With another ally of Taiwan, Tuvalu destined to host next
the Forum Secretariat to work on a template that features year’s 50th Forum Leaders’ summit, no one can rule out the
minimum standard requirements all interested hosts of the likelihood of this on-going spat between the two Chinas to
Forum must agree to and abide by. reach the shores of Funafuti. And we should not expect such
Waiving journalist visa should be included in that template. diplomatic tit for tat to end unless a hosting of the Pacific
So should be the offering of VIP courtesies and privileges to Island Forum’s minimum standard requirement template is
all state delegations. adopted and strictly adhered to.

The Forum Fisheries Agency currently runs a very successful ocean surveillance centre

with relies on a very comprehensive network of satellite and aircraft imagery. Of course

their core role is to stop illegal fishing in our ocean but surely it should not be dificult
to extend that already working system into the fight against drugs.

PARCELS of hard drugs washing up on the shores of some re-
mote and isolated islands in Fiji, the numerous arrests of drug
dealers in Tonga and now the detention of what’s believed to be
an armoured boat in the waters of Papua New Guinea have all
the tell-tale signs that drug cartels in the Asian and American
continents have taken their game up to a whole new level.
It must be fair to say that they have declared an all-out war on
all that dare stand in their paths, whatever or whoever that may
be. As shown in the recent incident on remote Bidibidi Island off
the eastern coast of mainland Papua New
Boe Declaration on Guinea (see page 11), these gangsters and
regional security the cargo they transport will spare nothing
and will go to any length in order for their
fiendish objective to be achieved.
It goes without saying that given the vastness of the Pacific
Ocean and how spread apart some of our islands are, our borders
are porous and the proper policing of our waters a near impos-
sibility.
Take the small island republic of Kiribati for instance. For an
island nation that lay claims to a maritime boundary that is as
big as the size of continental United States, it only has one single
patrol boat to police all of its waters. One small diesel powered
boat. Bigger countries like Fiji fare no better, as aging boats over
the years had reduced its fleet to one.
Certainly it is an unacceptable state of affairs and surely some-
thing that is not lost on the drug cartels of Asia and the Americas. imagery. Of course their core role is to stop illegal fishing in our
The closest leaders of the Pacific came to addressing the scourge ocean, but surely it should not be difficult to extend that already
of hard drugs and the use of the Pacific as a drugs transhipment working system into the war against drugs.
point in their Boe Declaration on Regional Security in Nauru Inter-island ships and aircraft, especially those aircraft that
early this month is their affirmation for an expanded concept of fly domestically (since they tend to fly in lower altitudes than
security which addresses among other things transnational crime. international bound planes) can be roped in as well in the fight
Sad to say the region will have to do more, way much more if against this seige.
they are to curb this menace. If the cartels have raised the bar, then Forum National and international drug and
the region needs to raise their’s way further and farther. It calls Surveillance security agencies need to be talking and
for an all hands on deck approach, and there is no time to lose. working together more often both at policy
While securing a lot of patrol boats would help, there are other and operational levels. Opening up your
solutions that are not as expensive but very practical still. Collabo- sea borders to pleasure boats for example may bring in that
ration and coordination is crucial. The Forum Fisheries Agency much desired foreign exchange, but one has to be ever alert
currently runs a very successful ocean surveillance centre which about the undesirable cargo or hangers on that tend to follow
relies on a very comprehensive network of satellite and aircraft in their wake.

Islands Business, September 2018 7