US announces $44 million Pacific security programme

Washington: The United States announced more than $44 million in new Pacific security programmes, including a maritime training centre in Palau and initiatives to strengthen policing, border surveillance and investigations into illicit finance.

The commitments followed the inaugural US-Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers, held in Los Angeles on October 21–22.

The State Department said the programmes would target transnational criminal organisations operating across the Pacific, linking maritime enforcement with investigations into drug trafficking, money laundering and cybercrime.

The figures represent announced programming commitments. The department’s fact sheet did not establish that all the money had already been disbursed or the projects completed.

A $7 million allocation would support a regional maritime law-enforcement training and coordination centre in Palau.

The proposed Aumoana Regional Center would train personnel in vessel boarding, evidence handling and maritime awareness. It would also accommodate American and regional liaison officers providing intelligence support.

Another $4 million would launch the Regional Interdiction Partnership for Trafficking Intelligence, Disruption, and Enforcement, or RIPTIDE.

Working with Interpol and the World Customs Organization, that initiative would seek to connect seizures at borders with investigations into trafficking networks and the money supporting them.

The State Department said customs training would address routes exploited by traffickers, including private aviation and international mail.

The package also includes nearly $5.5 million for a regional maritime awareness network. Planned measures include surveillance tools, secure communications and equipment for four Papua New Guinea fisheries patrol boats.

A further $4.5 million would support Project Kanaloa through the US Coast Guard, providing training in small-boat operations, boarding, fisheries enforcement and maritime prosecutions.

The Coast Guard would also expand bilateral Shiprider operations, under which officers from Pacific partners travel aboard American cutters and exercise their countries’ enforcement authority.

The FBI would receive $5 million for a programme to strengthen Pacific police investigations into drug trafficking, bribery, money laundering and cybercrime.

Homeland Security Investigations would support a separate $2.5 million initiative focused on border and port security, including screening equipment, liaison officers and cooperation on active cases.

The package includes $5 million for financial-intelligence and cybercrime units, with training in cryptocurrency tracing, ownership investigations and digital forensics.

An additional $5 million would support Pacific police academies through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.

Ministers and senior officials from Pacific island countries attended alongside representatives from Australia, New Zealand, France, regional organisations and American law-enforcement agencies.

The United States and Palau also signed a letter of agreement to advance law-enforcement training and capabilities. The department said some regional programming could benefit the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

The conference followed a US commitment at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau on September 1 to convene police ministers to discuss shared security challenges.

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