Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
[Photo: PASIFIKA ENVIRONEWS]
Pacific leaders and civil society representatives have been urged to remain vigilant amid growing geopolitical competition in the region.
Former Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Dame Meg Taylor says external powers are increasingly shaping the Pacific’s ocean agenda.
Speaking at a World Ocean Day gathering in Suva, she said the Pacific’s strategic importance to major powers has grown significantly, placing new pressure on regional unity and Pacific-led decision-making.
Dame Meg cautioned that while international partnerships are often well-intentioned, Pacific nations must continuously question whose interests are driving regional initiatives.
“The Pacific has become strategically significant to the United States, China and their respective allies in ways that were not true a generation ago”
She also reflected on the region’s long history of asserting control over its ocean resources and governance systems, stressing the need to keep questioning whose priorities shape the regional agenda.
Rev James Bhagwan also addressed the gathering, calling for stronger protection and respect for the ocean.
“Ocean’s Day reminds us in reimagining to go beyond what we know and what we think, and particularly into a renewed relationship with the ocean. And first is deep water from beyond the reef, the water that connects our lagoons, our islands, our homes.”
The World Ocean Day event brought together faith leaders, civil society organisations, policymakers and regional stakeholders to discuss ocean governance and stewardship across the Pacific.
