The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Security Strategic Working Group has completed their sixth workshop meeting in Honiara last week.
The group comprises representatives from all the MSG member states of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) of New Caledonia and Indonesia.
Indonesia is an associate member.
They discussed the outcomes of the group’s consultations with Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in each member country, where they came up with a draft security strategy in 2016.
The strategy was drafted over the last few months and the leaders decided in their wisdom, that this should be taken out for further consultations with faith-based organisations, NGOs and CSOs.
Thus, in the last two-day workshop, the members have been briefed on the outcomes of those consultations.
They then agreed on the next steps so that they can finalise the MSG Peace and Security Strategy.
They will then table the report during the Police Commissioner’s and the Police Minister’s Meeting, which will be hosted by Indonesia early next year.
Speaking to the local media in an interview, Chair for Security Strategy Working Group and Permanent Secretary for Fiji Government, Mason Smith said this is significant for the Melanesian sub-region as they face common threats right across the region.
Therefore, he said they must have common solutions to deal with those common threats.
“We must understand that we also have common challenges, challenges in so far as funding is concerned, our capabilities and our resources. So, we have to come together as a Melanesian sub-region, to be able to work together to articulate for ourselves how we are going to address these common security challenges.
“The security landscape is constantly changing and we are now faced with a region that is not only dealing with geopolitical conflict, we are also dealing with non-traditional challenges,” Mr. Smith said.
Going forward, Mr Smith said the strategy has come up with six key strategic priorities that will be recommended to the MSG Police Ministers for their approval.
The six strategic priorities are as follows:
1. Security Borders and the Security Maritime space- as a Pacific nation with huge maritime borders, we also have land borders that we have to secure.
2. Dealing with Cyber space and the threat posed by cyber security by non-state and state actors.
3. The increasing influence of transnational organized crimes. This is dealing with the increasing drug trade through the Pacific and in the Pacific. We have trafficking in persons. We have organized crime cartels that are laundering money through the region.
4. Dealing with our Disasters-Every year during our cyclone season from November to April. MSG needs to come together as a sub-region to agree on how they are going to respond to our Melanesian brothers and sisters who may be affected by disasters.
5. Dealing with the growing impact of Climate Change. This is a most pressing threat faced by our countries. How does Melanesian Sub-group assist our countries who are constantly facing the issues of climate change: coastal erosion, sea level rise, ocean warming, corals are dying, fishes are migrating. It is a challenge to food security and the very livelihood and existence of our Pacific peoples, specifically our Melanesian brothers and sisters.
6. Health security. This is dealing with ensuring the issues of NCDs and other health issues in the MSG region is addressed adequately.
Mr Smith strongly emphasised that MSG must take ownership of it as this is not about splitting the coconut in two and because we are one so we have to work as one people.
He added that another priority that the workshop is about is discussing the need to be proactive.
“Whilst we will wait for the ministers to approve the strategy, the meeting has recommended that the MSG Secretariat take certain steps to start the implementation of the strategy by setting up a Desk Officer at the MSG Secretariat to drive the implementation of the strategy once it is approved by our ministers,” Mr Smith said.
Echoing Mr Smith, Political, Security and Legal Affairs Program Manager, Ilan Kiloe said this is an important initiative for the MSG that aims to respond to security challenges in the region, the challenges facing our member countries.
“And this is one of the tools in which members can use to pull resources together to be able to respond to those security challenges. For example, in Solomon Islands, one of our major security concerns relates to law and order situation.
“We can be able to use the MSG platform as a way of pulling resources and assistance from other member MSG countries to be able to assist Solomon Islands in terms of responding to law and order situation in the country,” Mr Kiloe said.
By AGNES MENANOPO
Solomon Star, Honiara
