Japan and Pacific Island nations and territories are bolstering security ties, as well as collaboration on trade and climate issues, to “ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous” Indo-Pacific.
The 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Japan announced the initiatives after their three-day triennial summit in mid-July 2024 in Tokyo, and “expressed strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by the threat or use of force or coercion anywhere in the world.”
The leaders of Japan and PIF members are “committed to ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific region, and noted with concern the rapid military buildup which is not conducive to this end,” their statement said. It also called for “proactive, responsible and transparent engagement to uphold regional peace and security.”
The 10th iteration of the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10) is part of Japan’s strategy to strengthen ties with Blue Pacific nations, an initiative that mirrors efforts by other Allies and Partners such as the United States. The meeting came amid the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) military buildup, its push for influence in the Pacific region, and its ongoing territorial incursions around the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a pre-summit essay in The Japan Times newspaper, called Japan and Pacific Island countries and territories “mutually indispensable partners.”
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The PALM10 Joint Action Plan approved during the summit says the countries will “strengthen defense exchanges” via port calls by Japan Self-Defense Forces vessels and aircraft and also boost cooperation among the Japan Coast Guard and local maritime authorities. The partners said they will use the Japan Coast Guard’s mobile cooperation team to provide technical assistance and training to build maritime safety and security capacity; cooperate on maritime domain awareness with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; and support development of fisheries and a maritime training school.
The plan also calls for cooperation on climate resilience and disaster risk management, sustainable ocean management, economic resilience, investment in technology and connectivity, and people-centric development focused on areas such as health, education and culture.
PIF members are Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
