Palau: Ocean of Peace is a call for unity and action in the Pacific

Palau’s Foreign Minister says the newly signed Ocean of Peace declaration must go beyond mere symbolism.

Gusta Aitaro’s comments came amid the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Honiara last week.

On 10 September, the 18 Forum leaders endorsed the Fiji-backed proposal for a statement proclaiming the region’s cohesion and its desire for peace and climate action.

Aitaro says the survival of the Pacific depends on unity and the commitment of partners to align with the region’s priorities.

“The Ocean of Peace is not something that’s just for aesthetics, it’s our livelihood, our existence,” Aitaro says.

The Ocean of Peace initiative sees Pacific leaders affirming a set of principles designed to help “safeguard the ocean’s future”.

Listen to Gusta Aitaro's full interview below.

Dave Peebles, the Director of the Australian Pacific Security College, highlights the significance of the pact, saying that next year could be a big year with the return of 21 dialogue partners to the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (PIFLM), who were excluded from this year’s talks hosted by the Solomon Islands.

“The Ocean of Peace is very powerful. It’s really the Pacific saying to the rest of the world, this is Pacific peace,” Peebles says. “This is how we want to do security, and it’s very much that holistic approach to security, not just traditional issues, but climate change and health and jobs.

“It’s absolutely something the Pacific sort of takes to the dialogue partners and say, ‘this is how we want to do business in the Pacific.”

Listen to Dave Peebles' full interview below.

Aitaro suggests that external partners wanting to engage in Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) discussions should also sign the agreement. “If they are committed [to the region], yes. Sing the same song, the same tune as us in the Pacific.”

He adds that more work is needed from partners to meet the Pacific’s expectations. “But we have to start somewhere and we’ve started with the region. The Pacific way is you clean your yard first before you go out to somebody else’s.”

Peebles says climate change and geopolitics remain the biggest challenges for security in the Pacific region, but he is optimistic about the region’s future as countries come closer to working together.

Leaders from 18 countries across the Pacific region gathered in Honiara last week for the 54th Pacific ISlands Forum Leaders' Meeting. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

“I think there’s a real hunger for closer regional ties over the next few decades. When people think about the 2050 strategy for the blue Pacific and the Ocean of Peace, people see the way of achieving that by coming together more closely.

“So maybe in years ahead, we’ll see something like a Pacific Union as countries draw even closer together.”