Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 17 March 2025 – Senior Forum officials gathered in Suva, Fiji from 10-12 March to advance discussions on the Ocean of Peace initiative directed by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders at their 52nd annual meeting held in Rarotonga in 2023. Convened by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Talanoa provided an opportunity to refine the core principles that will guide the development of the Ocean of Peace Declaration, ensuring that Pacific security is shaped by Pacific strategic autonomy, clear regional coordination and a strong rules-based foundation.
During the discussions, the need to better define the concept of Peace within the regional security architecture emerged as a key consideration. While conflict prevention and response are well established within Pacific security frameworks, officials acknowledged that peace must be more than the absence of conflict – it must be actively shaped through governance, economic resilience, and strong institutions that protect the sovereignty of Forum members and support regional stability. The Talanoa provided critical space for ensuring the Ocean of Peace becomes a framework that is Pacific-centric, principled, and actionable in supporting the region in addressing security challenges today and into the future.
Leading the Cook Islands engagement in the Talanoa, Chargé d’Affaires with the Cook Islands High Commission to Fiji, Ms. Antonina Browne, joined others in underscoring the importance of ensuring Pacific security wasn’t dictated by external influences, but rather shaped by the Pacific for the Pacific. “As a region, our unique ‘Pacific Way’ of consensus is a strength that enables us to come together and take collective action. At the same time, by upholding the principles of sovereignty and state responsibility, we can maintain a robust and transparent regional security architecture that best meets the development needs of our individual members while being resilient in the face of global challenges beyond our making. Strong governance and clear principles will guide us in navigating the current global landscape and allow us to maintain our stability and grow our prosperity while promoting a peaceful, secure, and prosperous future for all Pacific nations.”
The Rarotonga Treaty (South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty) and the Aitutaki Declaration on Regional Security are only two of many regional instruments that demonstrate how Pacific nations have successfully asserted themselves, ensuring that regional security is built on lasting peace, non-militarization, and resilient governance institutions. The Talanoa reaffirmed the Pacific’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and the urgent need for Forum Partners to recognise and ratify the Treaty of Rarotonga, reinforcing the Pacific’s longstanding leadership in advancing a stable and conflict-free region.
In reflection, Cook Islands Foreign Secretary Ms. Tepaeru Herrmann emphasised the strategic significance of the Ocean of Peace considerations, given current global security trends and ongoing regional institutional reforms. “Where we the Pacific have acted as a collective, there is a proud history of crafting regional and international rules to protect our interests, whether through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Rarotonga Treaty for a nuclear-free zone, or the Convention for the Conservation and management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The Ocean of Peace Declaration provides the Pacific a further opportunity to solidify our Blue Continent as an Ocean of Peace, in alignment with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and ensuring that the outcomes of the Regional Architecture Review to be considered later this year by Forum Leaders, to support a resilient Pacific-led security framework.”
The Talanoa also advanced the review of the Boe Declaration Action Plan, ensuring that its security pillars (including climate security and economic resilience) are adequately resourced, measurable, and continue to align with broader objectives under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific. Officials reaffirmed the role of the Forum Subcommittee on Regional Security (FSRS) in translating political commitments into tangible security outcomes, with stronger coordination between security and development priorities.
The outcomes of the Talanoa are being discussed this week by officials at the FSRS as part of agreed processes to develop the Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration and the Cook Islands remains committed to working with Forum members and regional partners to ensure that the Ocean of Peace remains Pacific-driven and responsive to the region’s evolving security needs.
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Notes:
For insight into the Boe Declaration, see https://forumsec.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/BOE-document-Action-Plan.pdf
For insight into the outcomes of the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, see https://forumsec.org/publications/reports-communique-52nd-pacific-islands-leaders-forum-2023