05/09/2026
#๐๐๐ฌ๐จ #๐๐ช๐ซ๐๐ก๐ช #๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ฃ #2026๐๐๐ฌ๐จ
#๐๐ช๐ซ๐๐ก๐ช๐ฟ๐๐๐ก๐ฎ
โก๏ธ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐'๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ช๐๐จ๐ฉ๐จ
As the 55th Pacific Islands Forum gets underway in Palau, climate change, food security, and transnational crime top of the agenda. But off the floor, another issue is stirring unease among delegates.
The growing footprint of U.S security and law enforcement agencies across the region and it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
The concern is not unfounded.
Earlier this month, Edward Zimbardi, a U.S citizen implicated in a Ponzi scheme valued at over $165million, was located in Fiji and repatriated.
Fijiโs Immigration Department confirmed that it acted on intelligence provided by U.S authorities and coordinated with America officials to pinpoint target.
U.S personnel travelled to Fiji and took Zimbardi into custody for return to the United States. Fijian officials hail the operation as a success story for border security enforcement. Yet for those who live in these islands, it raises an unsettling question: How many other enforcement actions are playing out silently, just beyond public view?
This is no isolated case. In June, the president of Palau confirmed that the United States is building an advanced radar system in the country to track regional aircraft and missile activity. First proposed in 2017, the system is expected to become operational next year.
On the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum, I have heard delegates voice concerns over the United States expanding surveillance network in the region. Some worry that the Pacific is being treated as a backyard for greater-power rivalry; others question whether these operations truly serve the interest of island communities.
As a citizen of a Pacific island nation, I grew up surrounded by these vast blue waters. To the explorers of the Age of Sail, this was the โunknown seaโ. Today it has become the โnew frontierโ for intelligence agencies. Radar stations are rising, security personnel are coming and going, and monitoring networks are spreading โ all it seems without for our consent.
These are not alarmist claims. They are facts already reported in the open. What is truly troubling is whether as these activities become routine under the banner of โcooperation and security,โ we will gradually lose our autonomy over these waters.
The delegates at the forum are discussing this question. I hope more people across the Pacific Islands will pay attention โ because, after all, this is our shared home.
๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐๐: ๐๐ช๐ซ๐๐ก๐ช ๐ฟ๐๐๐ก๐ฎ @๐ฝ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก ๐๐ช๐๐ง๐ค๐ฉ๐ค ๐ญ. ๐๐ค๐ข
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