Permanent Secretary for Policing Berenado Daveta. [Photo: FILE]
The Ministry of Policing has raised concerns over ongoing challenges in accessing Fiji’s vast maritime areas while combating transnational crime, particularly drug trafficking.
Permanent Secretary for Policing Berenado Daveta says Fiji’s extensive maritime boundaries present significant operational challenges for law enforcement, with the Fiji Police Force relying heavily on the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Navy to monitor and secure the country’s waters.
“We’re talking about Maritime security. Our EEZ is 1.3 million km², police are more land-bound in operations, but a bit of maritime division, but only a small component of it. We rely on the navy to be doing the policing of our maritime waters, especially the EEZ.”
Daveta says discussions are underway to strengthen collaboration with the Fiji Navy and establish dedicated police maritime bases in strategic locations around the country.
“And we’re hoping that we will also have the support to get some boats and have a full base, let’s say Lakeba, in Savusavu, Levuka and Denarau, so they can patrol those areas while the Military or the Navy patrol outside territorial waters and into the EEZ.”
The comments were made during the Pacific Peace Dialogue, where regional security threats and the growing impact of transnational crime were discussed.
Former policing diplomat Ross Arden highlighted the increasing threat posed by illicit drugs across the Pacific, warning that the region faces a growing convergence of organised crime and human security concerns.
“Our Pacific communities now face an ever-growing prospect of serious harm from the illicit use of drugs and meth in particular, with the rise of HIV, we’re seeing an unprecedented merging of transnational crime threat with the major human security threat.”
The dialogue underscored the need for stronger regional cooperation and coordinated responses among Pacific nations to address drug trafficking, organised crime, and emerging security challenges across the region.\
