AFP stands ready to help
Australia and Fiji join forces to tackle transnational threats
AUSTRALIAN Federal Police (AFP) senior liaison officer, Detective Superintendent Adrian Morton says they have not seen any indicator of terrorism and drug trafficking being interlinked in the Pacific.
However, he said the AFP stood ready to partner with Fiji to combat these threats.
“The AFP along with other border agencies like the Australian Border Force are now embedded in Fiji and we are working together on these common problems that we have,” he said.
“It’s not just one country; it’s as a Pacific region that we are looking to combat this. We have the Pacific Islands chiefs of police, which Fiji has obviously a firm stake in but Australia does as well.
“Together in our multilateral agreement, we’re not just looking to protect Fiji or Australia, but we’re looking to combine it together to protect the Pacific and that will be against the threat of the drug scourge and the cartels, but also in areas like counter terrorism or other shared threats for security in the region.”
He said there were broader multilateral strategies under Joint Heads of Pacific Security (JHoPS) where all countries talked about their combined security together.
“I think as friends in partnership together, we can only help each other to make the region a safer place,” Detective Superintendent Morton said.
“There is a willingness to learn and share information, now we bring our experiences, but Fiji also brings their experiences and what we do is that middle ground enhances both of our approaches.
“These crimes that we are looking to address, they span the globe. It’s only through this partnership and learning from each other and sharing information collaboratively that we can address these problems together.”