Pacific Islands endorse $354m plan to police region

Funded by Australia, the initiative creates a multi-country force for use during crises

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Leaders of several Pacific Islands said on Aug 28 they have endorsed an Australian-funded A$400 million (S$354 million) plan to improve police training and create a mobile regional policing unit, as Canberra looks to reduce China's security footprint in the area.

The leaders of Tonga, Fiji, Palau and Papua New Guinea said the programme would assist island states in tackling drug trafficking, illegal fishing and economic crimes across a region that spans millions of kilometres of ocean.

"The entire Pacific is the biggest unpoliced space on planet Earth," Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape told reporters in Tonga.