The government of Fiji has said that it will continue to stick to the policing cooperation agreement with China.
The agreement was signed in 2011 when the country was under military rule and according to the deal, China police officers would be embedded in the Fijian force, while Beijing would provide hi-tech equipment including surveillance gear and drones and train Fijian police officers in China.
The deal was under review after Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, raised concerns over the countries’ differing values and judicial systems. The government has now said that it has reviewed the deal and would stick to it.
In an interview with the Guardian, home affairs minister, Pio Tikoduadua said, “We are now back on the original police agreement [with China] – that has been restored, we had reviewed it for 12 months.”
The agreement also includes cooperation in exchange of intelligence, visits, training and the supply of equipment. However, as of now there would be no embedding of Chinese officers in Fijian police force.
Rakuba seems to have softened his stance on the issue. After coming to power in December 2022, he said that he saw no need for such an agreement.
“We need to look at that again before we decide on whether we go backward or continue the way we have had in the past,” Rabuka said at the time.
Former Fijian police officers have raised concerns about the method of training under the deal, highlighting the differences in values and systems between the countries.
Countries in the Pacific region rely heavily on international partners – notably Australia and New Zealand – to help resource their police forces. In 2016, China constructed a new police training centre in Samoa. It funded a police headquarters in the Cook Islands. It has also supplied vehicles, riot equipment and uniforms to police in the region.
