Sainimili Magimagi 
[Photo: FILE]
Japan is set to provide vessels to strengthen Fiji’s maritime surveillance and fight growing drug trafficking threats.
Justice Minister and Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga says discussions with the Japanese Ambassador this week included plans to provide four vessels for the Republic of Fiji Navy.
He says two of the vessels are expected to be stationed in Levuka and Lakeba, boosting the country’s ability to monitor and protect its maritime borders.
Turaga says the support will enhance Fiji’s capacity to secure its vast exclusive economic zone, which is increasingly being targeted by transnational criminal networks involved in drug trafficking.
He says the government is also fast-tracking anti-narcotics legislation as part of a broader strategy to combat the growing threat.
“These cartels, their value is worth more than the Government of Fiji. These cartels will continue seeing us as transit or maybe a market. What we can do is protect our high seas.”
Turaga says criminal syndicates operating across the Pacific are well-resourced and continue to view the region as both a transit route and a potential market for illicit drugs.
He says the planned vessel support, together with legislative reforms, reflects the government’s commitment to strengthening maritime security and disrupting illegal trafficking networks.
