KOROR, Palau – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a A$600 million package at the Pacific Islands Forum on Wednesday to help stop cocaine and methamphetamine smuggling through the Pacific, as leaders endorsed the Waqa Moana maritime initiative.
The multi-year funding will boost aerial surveillance aimed at go-fast boats and so-called narco-subs, expand police training across the region, and deepen Australian Federal Police work with Central and South American source countries. Albanese said the Pacific is Australia’s “home and family” and that Canberra must work with partners “to stamp out the illicit drug trade.”
Australian and Pacific agencies have seized more than 17 tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine in the region so far in 2026, up from about 5.5 tonnes in 2025, the AFP and ABC reported. Officials link the surge to Australian and New Zealand demand and to social damage in transit states, including gang pressure in Samoa and Tonga and Fiji’s HIV crisis.
Fiji’s foreign minister, Sakiasi Raisevu Ditoka, said Pacific leaders want the initiative. Analysts cautioned that gear without training will not stop better-funded syndicates. The Forum’s leaders’ retreat is Thursday; China-Taiwan tensions have already overshadowed opening days.
Sources: ABC News; The Canberra Times.
