President Surangel Whipps Jr. is backing the Australian-funded policing plan, which he said will help curb several security issues that are now plaguing Palau including drugs, human trafficking, and Illegal, Underreported, and Unregulated ( IUU) fishing.
Whipps in Tonga for the annual Pacific Islands Forum ( PIF) summit endorsed the landmark regional policing plan.
The plan is a way to limit China’s security role in the region. Whipps has been vocal about China’s attempt to force Palau to break ties with Taiwan.
Whipps has also accused China of being behind several cyber attacks in Palau.
“We have IUU, we have now drugs, human trafficking. Palau, in the last year, got hit with three major cybersecurity incidents,” Whipps said in a Pacific joint leaders’ statement.
“ It is so important that we develop our local police forces and be able to collaborate and work together to meet the challenges. Without peace and security, we cannot prosper as Pacific Islands,’ he added.
He said that, regionally, the Pacific has security challenges and praised the Patrol Boat Program, funded by Australia and served as a deterrent to IUU.
“And so we need to continue to focus and build those internal capacities that we can combat crime and the challenges we face, “ Whipps said.
The regional policing plan involves the creation of four regional police training centers and a multinational crisis reaction force. The initial funding which amounts to $271 million will be coming from Australia.
Under the plan, a corps of about 200 officers drawn from different Pacific Island nations could be dispatched to regional hot spots and disaster zones when needed and invited.
Palau reported that it is grappling with a concerning rise in methamphetamine smuggling, primarily perpetrated by foreign nationals, according to recent cases reported by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) (Palau Supreme Court, 2024).
In February. three separate cases of Trafficking of Controlled Substance, a felony charge were filed at the court.
Lt. Kenny Sengebau of the Narcotics Enforcement Agency (NEA) and Transnational Crime Unit (NEA, 2024) confirmed a significant increase in cases involving Chinese nationals attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into Palau (NEA, 2024). While three cases have already been filed, ongoing investigations suggest the issue might be more widespread (NEA, 2024).