Commander Pacific Response Group Lieutenant Colonel Scott Hill briefs partner nations on the group's capabilities during Exercise Croix du Sud in Noumea, New Caledonia [ file photo ]

A permanent regional military team has been formed to strengthen disaster response across the Pacific, bringing together defence forces from Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, France, New Zealand, and Australia, with Chile as an observer.

Commander of the Pacific Response Group, Lieutenant Colonel Scott Hill, says the new joint headquarters, now based in Brisbane, Australia will allow the six nations to coordinate faster, stronger, and more unified relief efforts whenever disaster strikes in the region.

Hill says the idea came from Pacific Defence Ministers who recognised how well the nations already work together in times of crisis, and wanted to make that cooperation permanent.

He adds that while Australia is currently hosting the group, New Zealand will take over next year, with core members from each country specialising in logistics, health, maritime, air, and communications support.

Hill says the group’s strength lies not only in military capability but in the shared culture and diversity of the Pacific, calling it “a unified Pacific organisation in the Pacific, for the Pacific.”

“And the strength of the Pacific Response Group is not just the military skills that each of our nations bring. It is actually the cultural experiences, it is the nuances and it’s actually the differences that our nations bring in that actually unite us and make us stronger”

Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, Peter Roberts, says the ADV Reliant — the ship currently supporting the group’s training — symbolises Australia’s commitment to a collective Pacific response. The vessel can produce water, deliver medical aid, and transport emergency supplies to island nations in need.

Roberts says the Reliant and the Pacific Response Group are practical examples of the region “working together to look after each other” when disasters hit.

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