The ninth annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM) concluded today in Auckland, New Zealand. The meeting brought together Defence Ministers and representatives from Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga. Observers from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States also participated, along with the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Mr. Baron Waqa, as a special guest.

The focused theme of this year is “Collectively Looking to the Future: Our Region in 2050,” addressing key regional security challenges such as climate change, maritime security, and strategic competition. The discussions taking place emphasized the need for stronger collaboration and a unified approach in tackling these complex challenges, reaffirming the shared commitment of Pacific nations to safeguard the region’s entire security and resilience.

There were several key outcomes from the SPDMM that have been endorsed – one of it was the Pacific Response Group (PRG), a group designed to enhance disaster response capabilities throughout the Pacific. They also discussed maritime security cooperation to improve ways in order to improve domain awareness and have agreed to continue ship-riding cooperation and intelligence sharing to address threats such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and transnational crime.

They have identified climate change as a security issue as a standing agenda item for future SPDMM meetings. The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering regional capacity to respond to climate-induced disasters.

The ministers have also welcomed the publication of a report on Non-traditional threats; they reiterated that on how militaries across the South Pacific are addressing non-traditional security threats, including cyber threats, natural disasters, and health crises, in line with the Boe Declaration on Regional Security. Another concern was the establishment of Pacific Defence Faith Network and is committed to advancing the Women, Peace, and Security agenda to address recruitment and career progression challenges in Pacific militaries.

They also supported the launch of the regional training framework in order to enhance military training coordination in 2025. Chile’s efforts to establish the SPDMM Academic Cooperation Network were also praised.

Fiji’s delegation, led by Pio Tikoduadua, played a central role in advancing discussions on the Regional Training Framework, which will now include defence civilian training streams, ensuring a comprehensive approach to building defence capability across the South Pacific.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to Pacific-led solutions and a pledge to meet again in Chile for SPDMM 2025.