By Lute Vakasiuola

The two-day South Pacific Defence Ministers meeting in Nuku'alofa concluded on 19 October, after key issues were discussed on shared security challenges aiming to enhance coordination on regional defence issues.

Prime Minister, Hon. Hu'akavameiliku said that the fact that they were all present, in person, was a big achievement.

He joined Heads of Delegations at a press vonference just before their last session on 19 October.

“It was an opportunity to have the face-to-face meeting with lessons learned and to have discussed the experience Tonga faced after the natural disasters occured.”

He said they visited Kanokupolu and Masilamea to inspect the re-building progress on 18 October.

"Hopefully that will resonate in what type of framework that we can come up with collectively as a region to help, in case any of our members go through a similar crisis in the future."

Following the  Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai eruption, there was an influx of aid and assistance to Tonga and at the forefront of providing assistance were different defence forces and military from overseas.

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence. Hon. Richard Marles said, "its been a real sense of a Pacific family coming together in the moment to help a member of the family".

"That's how we saw it and I'm sure that's how other countries who provided assistance, saw it as well."

He said that they toured the sites where the greatest impact of the tsunami was and he was amazed at how they looked now, considering the whole island wa covered in ash back in January.

"It's incredible the recovery that we have seen across Tonga, which says so much about the resilience of Tonga and the leadership of the Prime Minister, Hon. Hu’akavameiliku."

"We were really pleased to play whatever we could in relation to that", he said.

He added that it had been a learning experience for the others here and they had talked about what they've learned from this.

Hon. Marles said, "whilst this was not a climate change related event, obviously one of the impacts of climate change is an expectation of more disasters in the Pacific.

“So making sure that our disaster is excellent in the way in which we can coordinate with each other is going to be really important going forward, and I think we are very keen to make sure that we get those learnings right and we make sure that our coordination is maximized".

At the same time, NZ Minister of Defence. Hon. Peeni Henare said, that it was a poignant back in New Zealand because of its large Tongan community, who were looking for a strong response from them and other partners.

"So, yes, there are lessons there and some of those lessons are about the frequency of events like this, because of the unexpected nature of many of these events".

In addition, he said they need to be prepared for frequency in the coming months and years, and the cyclone season ahead, and that they should be looking to do better in other parts as well. 

"What I’ve been most encouraged about in our time here in this conference, is the way that we focused on the way we can perform better and how we can respond accordingly", he said.

Influences in the region

With regards to China’s growing influence in the region, Hon. Marles said their starting point is thinking in terms of building the resilience and the security of the Pacific family.

"I think we live in a complex world, a more strategically challenging world, but what’s really important is that nations that are friends and family are coming together to build their collective security. That’s really been the spirit that’s underpinned the conversations that we have had during the course of yesterday, and what we’ll continue later this afternoon", he said.

In addition, he said that while we can talk about the situation of great powers, the existential issue for many countries of the Pacific is climate change.

"Its really responding to that as we’ve just described in respect of greater frequency of weather events and more severe weather events, but also the way in which climate change is putting a stress on water security and on countries in the Pacific".

He said that defence and a notion of security has as much to do with that as anything else, and that is been the way they've been thinking about it.

Partners in the Pacific

Hon. Henare added, that with the respect shown to the sovereignty of all nations in the Pacific, is the same respect that they looked toward in ways on how to be good partners in the Pacific. 

"We are of the Pacific, this is our homeland too in New Zealand and we’ve got a job to make sure that we can continue to secure the Pacific for its future prosperity, which ultimately is what we all want for the Pacific.

In addition, New Zealand has been a follower of the international rules-based order, and that’s what the architecture and the underpinning of that architecture in New Zealand’s mind is."

Conclusion

Meanwhile, SPDMM is a key forum for Pacific Defence Ministers and Chiefs of Defence to discuss shared security challenges and enhance coordination on regional defence issues.

The Prime Minister's Office stated today, that the SPDMM recognises that maintaining cooperation between regional Defence Forces supports stability in the region and helps to build strong and enduring partnerships. This includes developing the capabilities and capacities of the region’s respective Defence Forces.

The two-day discussions focused on key issues:

• Developing a Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Framework, including a HADR Standard Operating Procedure, a plan to transform Fiji’s Blackrock camp into a regional centre of excellence and, establishing Exercise LONGREACH as a regional HADR tabletop exercise
• Endorsing a regional protection of information-sharing arrangement; a concept note to refresh the POVAI ENDEAVOUR Framework; and amendments to the SPDMM Governance Framework
• Preparing a publication on how non-traditional security challenges are being addressed by the militaries of the SPDMM

Permanent memnbers who attended included Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand, France, Chile, Australia and Tonga.