Press Conference, South Pacific Defence Ministers' Meeting

SUBJECTS: South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting. 

ADRIANA DELPIANO, CHILE MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENSE (VIA TRANSLATOR): Ministers of defence and heads of delegations have had the 10th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting. As observers, we had representatives of Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum was invited as a special guest. SPDMM, established in 2013 as the main ministerial forum for defence in the South Pacific, reassured the role of strengthening cooperation and promoting regional responses to facing common threats. Over these days, we’ve faced the new trends in terms of security, and we underscore the importance of cooperation among the military forces to guarantee a safe, resilient and peaceful region. We also renewed the commitment for cooperation for climate change disasters, the growing demand of humanitarian assistance, and the need to face non‑traditional maritime threats, such as transnational organised crime. In terms of interoperability, we assessed the progress made by the Pacific Response Group during the first year, and the second phase was approved, which will apply the new host, New Zealand, from 2026. The authorities welcomed the proposal of Chile to establish a joint military exercise, a biennial military exercise in the territorial waters of the country, very likely in Easter Island, once we have discussed these with relevant authorities and the Island. This is the result, and reflects very clearly the way we are working with our neighbours in the Pacific to improve security of the countries. Few maritime territories are as vast as the one that goes from Australia to Chile on the south side of the Pacific, to the north from Ecuador to Antarctica. All who are here; we are members of countries which represent small islands, but also share the SPDMM history. 

In terms of academia, we highlighted the first publication of the academic cooperation network of SPDMM which is led by Chile. The publication refers to the impact of climate change in terms of South Pacific security. Our country will continue work on this project. The ministers also celebrated the launching of the Regional Training Framework with combined training in the region, and they agreed upon including some modules about environmental sustainability and climate safety. They also supported the sharing of information, something that was led by France, to protect and lead the flow of information among different SPDMM actors. Facing the anniversary in 2025 of resolution 1325 of the United Nations on Women, Peace and Security, highlighted the importance to continue working on the leadership of women in regional security. This is a relevant topic which has been promoted, and we will continue making our effort to integrate women in each space of the defence construction, security, and building of peace at the international level. 

This forum is a collective voice. We will continue growing thanks to the commitment of each country which has been represented in this meeting. Chile deeply thanks this commitment and the active participation of each delegation in this 2025 version. We will support all requirements of Fiji for SPDMM 2026 where they are going to be the host. Thank you, everyone.

JOURNALIST: Minister, how did you address the problem of organized crime, in terms of maritime security? Did you address the topic of organized crime? 

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thank you for the question. We did address the topic of organised crime, which is an issue that has always affected the countries of the Pacific, but which is particularly doing so now. We have a lot of architecture within the Pacific already in terms of coordination amongst our various police forces, and indeed, in the last week, there's been a drug bust which has been the result of cooperation between the Chilean police forces and the Australian Federal Police, which has seen the stopping of a significant amount of cocaine coming into Australia. And we very much welcome, I should say, the cooperation that we've been able to have with Chile on that. It's an example of the kind of cooperation which is occurring right around the Pacific now in terms of organised crime. We, from an Australian point of view, are very appreciative of that. We understand that in terms of illicit drugs, Australia is a destination market, and so in that sense, it is part of the story of the flows of illegal drugs through the Pacific, and it highlights the need for that coordination. There is a role for militaries in respect of this and amongst the various other issues we explored, we had a particular session where we were exploring ways in which we can engage in that. But one of the– I guess, one of the insights that came out of the meeting was that the architecture that exists amongst our countries today is, in fact, very strong, and we need to be leaning on that and making sure we use every aspect of it. 

MINISTER DELPIANO (VIA TRANSLATOR): Well, clearly, this is one of the topics of interest for Chile. Being part of the countries in the South Pacific, it is important to evidence that the traffic goes in both directions. It goes to countries of destination for drug trafficking, but then we receive chemicals that are used for the manufacture of the drugs. So it's a two way path. And we have an interagency through the ports. We know ports are what we can use for patrolling purposes, but at the ports, you have the arrival of containers with chemicals or illegal drugs. Therefore, our highest effort is the work with customs. So with the maritime police, there is a significant effort being developed there. On the other hand, technology is very helpful to identify the location of ships around these territories, deep in the sea, because we need to face organised crime in terms of drugs in the benefit of our country and all the countries in the South Pacific. On the other hand, illegal fishing in national seas is a serious, acute problem, because most countries that live in the Pacific use the sea as a source of revenue.

JOURNALIST: Minister, a question for you and the other ministers. The scenario in the South Pacific, regardless of the affiliations of the countries, is related to clashes of hegemony between China and the US. How do you envision that scenario, regardless of the affiliations of the Pacific countries to China or to the US? 

CHRIS PENK, NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATE DEFENCE MINISTER: Thank you Minister to you and the undersecretary for your gracious hosting. In relation to the Pacific, I think I can reflect on behalf of all the ministers at the SPDMM meeting that we view the Pacific Ocean very much as one of peace, and to commit to doing all we can together to ensure that’s the case. To reflect those values that we share as family, a lot of our discussion has been focused on ensuring that we have more structures and organisations ourselves, so that we can respond effectively to any of the challenges, including transnational organised crime, but also (inaudible) other activities. So whatever the challenge, we know that if we are stronger together, we’ll be well placed to react.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER MARLES: We observe that the Pacific is a place of growing geostrategic contest. In seeking to understand that and appropriately respond and react to it, all of the members of SPDMM and all of the observers who are here at SPDMM as well; the UK, Japan and the United States, all of us share values as democracies, as countries which respect freedom of speech, and which seek to uphold a rules‑based order. And a rules‑based order is very much in the national interest of countries of our size. It gives us agency. In a world which is only about power and might, it is hard for smaller countries to be able to deal with the issues around them. But in a world where differences between countries are determined by rule of law, by international law, that's a world in which we have agency. And so it is from that perspective that we seek to work together as a Pacific family to build capability, and through a range of the measures that we've been talking about over the last three days, we are taking really significant steps forward in terms of building that capability. It is about ensuring that we are upholding the rules‑based order within the Pacific, and we are meeting the aspiration which was articulated at the Pacific Islands Forum in Solomon Islands this year, that the Pacific be an ocean of peace. 

MINISTER DELPIANO (VIA TRANSLATOR): Thank you very much everyone. This has been a great opportunity to put an end to this meeting. I hope you have a safe travel back home. You have to travel for more than 20 hours, and I really appreciate that. We know we are far, but we are close. So at this time, we feel really close. But when you are on your trip, the hours of flight will feel really heavy. So I hope you have a safe trip back home and we are ready to get together again, either virtually or in presence, dearly after receiving you in this country. Thank you.

ENDS