Surangel Whipps Jr.
NUKU’ALOFA/KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. supports an Australian-funded policing plan that will help address several security issues plaguing Palau: drugs, human trafficking, and illegal, underreported and unregulated or IUU fishing.
Whipps was in Tonga last week for the annual Pacific Islands Forum summit, which endorsed the 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 cyberattacks 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, regionally, the Pacific faces security challenges. He praised the Patrol Boat Program, funded by Australia, which aims to deter IUU.
“We need to continue to focus and build those internal capacities that 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 amounting to $271 million will come 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 has 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.
In February, three separate cases of trafficking of controlled substance, a felony charge, were filed in court.
Lt. Kenny Sengebau of the Narcotics Enforcement Agency and Transnational Crime Unit noted a significant increase in cases involving Chinese nationals attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into Palau.
Ongoing investigations suggest that the issue might be more widespread.
